Macromolecules isolated from Phellinus pini fruiting body: Chemical characterization and antiviral activity

Natural Compounds of Fungal Origin with Antimicrobial Activity-Potential Cosmetics Applications

The phenomenon of drug resistance in micro-organisms necessitates the search for new compounds capable of combating them. Fungi emerge as a promising source of such compounds as they produce a wide range of secondary metabolites with bacteriostatic or fungistatic activity. These compounds can serve as alternatives for commonly used antibiotics. Furthermore, fungi also accumulate compounds with antiviral activity. This review focuses on filamentous fungi and macrofungi as sources of antimicrobial compounds. The article describes both individual isolated compounds and extracts that exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity. These compounds are produced by the fruiting bodies and mycelium, as well as the biomass of mycelial cultures. Additionally, this review characterizes the chemical compounds extracted from mushrooms used in the realm of cosmetology; specifically, their antimicrobial activity.

A concise review of mushrooms antiviral and immunomodulatory properties that may combat against COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, because of its widespread transmission and infection rates. The unique severe disease was found in Wuhan, China, since December 2019, and swiftly spread throughout the world. Natural chemicals derived from herbal medicines and medicinal mushrooms provide a significant resource for the development of novel antiviral drugs. Many natural drugs have been proven to have antiviral properties against a variety of virus strains, such as the coronavirus and the herpes simplex virus (HSV).. In this research, successful dietary treatments for different COVID illnesses were compared to potential of mushroom products in its therapy. In Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus, search keywords like COVID, COVID-19, SARS, MERS, mushrooms, and their compounds were utilized. In this review of the literature we foucsed popular mushrooms such as Agaricus subrufescens Peck, Agaricus blazei Murill, Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc., Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis.) P. Karst., Grifola frondosa (Dicks.) Gray, Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers., Inonotus obliquus (Arch. Ex Pers.) Pilát., Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler, Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm., Poria cocos F.A. Wolf, and Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd.,. Changed forms of β-Glucan seem to have a good impact on viral replication suppression and might be used in future studies. However, the results seems terpenoids, lectins, glycoproteins, lentinan, galactomannan, and polysaccharides from mushrooms are promising prophylactic or therapeutic agents against COVID-19.

Current advances and potential trends of the polysaccharides derived from medicinal mushrooms sanghuang

For thousands of years, sanghuang is distinctive as a general designation for a group of precious and rare Chinese medicinal mushrooms. Numerous investigations have revealed that polysaccharide is one of the important biological active ingredients of sanghuang with various excellent biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-tumor, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, and anti-microbial functionalities. For the past two decades, preparation, structural characterization, and reliable bioactivities of the polysaccharides from fruiting bodies, cultured mycelia, and fermentation broth of sanghuang have been arousing extensive interest, and particularly, different strains, sources, and isolation protocols might result in obvious discrepancies in structural features and bioactivities. Therefore, this review summarizes the recent reports on preparation strategies, structural features, bioactivities, and structure-activity relationships of sanghuang polysaccharides, which will enrich the knowledge on the values of natural sanghuang polysaccharides and support their further development and utilization as therapeutic agents, vaccines, and functional foods in tonic and clinical treatment.

The Antiviral Activity of Bacterial, Fungal, and Algal Polysaccharides as Bioactive Ingredients: Potential Uses for Enhancing Immune Systems and Preventing Viruses

Viral infections may cause serious human diseases. For instance, the recent appearance of the novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19, has spread globally and is a serious public health concern. The consumption of healthy, proper, functional, and nutrient-rich foods has an important role in enhancing an individual's immune system and preventing viral infections. Several polysaccharides from natural sources such as algae, bacteria, and fungi have been considered as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration. They are safe, low-toxicity, biodegradable, and have biological activities. In this review, the bioactive polysaccharides derived from various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and algae were evaluated. Antiviral mechanisms of these polysaccharides were discussed. Finally, the potential use of microbial and algal polysaccharides as an antiviral and immune boosting strategy was addressed. The microbial polysaccharides exhibited several bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antitumor, and immunomodulatory activities. Some microbes are able to produce sulfated polysaccharides, which are well-known to exert a board spectrum of biological activities, especially antiviral properties. Microbial polysaccharide can inhibit various viruses using different mechanisms. Furthermore, these microbial polysaccharides are also able to modulate immune responses to prevent and/or inhibit virus infections. There are many molecular factors influencing their bioactivities, e.g., functional groups, conformations, compositions, and molecular weight. At this stage of development, microbial polysaccharides will be used as adjuvants, nutrient supplements, and for drug delivery to prevent several virus infections, especially SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Selected Species of the Genus Phellinus - Chemical Composition, Biological Activity, and Medicinal Applications

This study presents the current knowledge on chemical composition, biological activity, and possible medicinal applications of Phellinus igniarius, Phellinus pini, Phellinus pomaceus, and Phellinus robustus. These inedible arboreal species are phytopathogens that cause the enzymatic decomposition of wood. These species belong to the medicinal mushrooms and have been known for centuries in the traditional medicine of the Far East. They have been used as an effective remedy for stomach and intestinal ailments, diarrhea, and hemorrhages. Mycochemical studies have proved the presence of polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and terpenoids. These compounds show biological activities such as anticancer, antioxidant, antiangiogenic, and antiviral. Research studies conducted using modern analytical methods have advanced the knowledge on the potential therapeutic use of compounds isolated not only from the fruiting bodies but also from biomass obtained with in vitro biotechnological methods.

Purified antioxidant from the medicinal mushroom Phellinus pini protects rat H9c2 cell against H2 O2 -induced oxidative stress

In this study, through the combination of AB-8 macroporous resin, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC, an antioxidant component was purified from the crude extract of Phellinus pini, thereby evaluating the cardioprotective effect of the fraction. As a result, total phenolic content of the 60% ethanol elution was increased by 4.8-fold after one run treatment on Sephadex LH-20 chromatography with gradient elution. After semi-preparative HPLC separation, the first peak (PP-S4-1) showed that inhibition ratio of erythrocyte hemolysis was 91.9%, and inhibition ratio of lipid peroxidation was also increased by 87.6%, at 50 μg/ml (p < .01). Based on the results of ESI-MS, ¹ HNMR, ¹³ CNMR, and RP-HPLC compared to many published results, PP-S4-1was identified as catechin (MW 290.015, C₁₅ H₁₄ O₆ ). The results showed that PP-S4-1 pretreatment made cell viability increased, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibited. Meanwhile, PP-S4-1 remarkably decreased the fluorescence intensity of Ca²⁺ , and increased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP; ΔΨm). In addition, PP-S4-1 could significantly inhibit the decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity as well as the increase of MDA content in H9c2 cells induced by H₂ O₂ . Moreover, pretreatment with PP-S4-1 significantly improved the morphological changes and prevented H₂ O₂ -induced DNA damage. Therefore, this study clarifies the ability of PP-S4-1 to treat H9c2 cell oxidative stress damage induced by H₂ O₂ through its antioxidant effect. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research is not only helpful to elaborate the cardioprotective effect of Phellinus pini but also can contribute to the development of health foods or drug supplements for heart disease in the future. This is the first report dealing with phenolic component and cardioprotective activity of a medicinal mushroom P. pini belonging to the genus Phellinus.

Separation, characterization and hypoglycemic activity in vitro evaluation of a low molecular weight heteropolysaccharide from the fruiting body of Phellinus pini

Edible mushrooms have potential in anti-diabetic phytotherapy. They are rich in natural compounds such as polysaccharides, which have been known to have antihyperlipidemic effects since ancient times. A polysaccharide fraction of PP80 and a contained low molecular-weight (Mw), water-soluble polysaccharide (PPW-1, Mw: 3.2 kDa) were isolated from the fruiting body of Phellinus pini. Both PP80 and PPW-1 possess α-glucosidase inhibition and glucose consumption amelioration in an insulin-resistant HepG2 cell model. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of PPW-1 (IC50 = 2.2 ± 0.1 mg mL-1) is significantly (P < 0.01) higher than those of PP80 (IC50 = 13.1 ± 0.5 mg mL-1) and acarbose (IC50 = 4.3 ± 0.2 mg mL-1), behaving in a non-competitive inhibition manner. The structural characterization results indicated that PPW-1 is a homogeneous heteropolysaccharide composed of d-glucose, d-mannose, d-galactose and l-rhamnose. The major backbone of PPW-1 is primarily comprised of 1,6-linked glucopyranose, every third residue of which is branched at the O-3 position by a side chain consisting of 1,3-linked and terminal glucopyranose. In addition, small amounts of 1,2-linked-α-d-Manp, 1,6-linked-3-O-Me-α-d-Galp and rhamnose exist in PPW-1. In summary, PPW-1 is a novel heteropolysaccharide with potent in vitro hypoglycemic activity, and it may be a potential dietary component for improving glucose homeostasis.

Antiviral Bioactive Compounds of Mushrooms and Their Antiviral Mechanisms: A Review

Mushrooms are used in their natural form as a food supplement and food additive. In addition, several bioactive compounds beneficial for human health have been derived from mushrooms. Among them, polysaccharides, carbohydrate-binding protein, peptides, proteins, enzymes, polyphenols, triterpenes, triterpenoids, and several other compounds exert antiviral activity against DNA and RNA viruses. Their antiviral targets were mostly virus entry, viral genome replication, viral proteins, and cellular proteins and influenced immune modulation, which was evaluated through pre-, simultaneous-, co-, and post-treatment in vitro and in vivo studies. In particular, they treated and relieved the viral diseases caused by herpes simplex virus, influenza virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Some mushroom compounds that act against HIV, influenza A virus, and hepatitis C virus showed antiviral effects comparable to those of antiviral drugs. Therefore, bioactive compounds from mushrooms could be candidates for treating viral infections.

Physiologically Active Compounds in Four Species of Phellinus

The content of two groups of compounds with biological activity (non-hallucinogenic indole compounds and free phenolic acids) were analyzed in extracts of fruiting bodies of four species of Phellinus: P. igniarius, P. pini, P. pomaceus and P. robustus. The presence of indole compounds in methanolic extracts was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography coupled with densitometric detection. Three metabolites (serotonin, tryptamine, and L-tryptophan) were identified. The contents of individual indole compounds ranged from 1.70 (tryptamine in P. robustus) to 8.32 mg x 100 g1 dry weight (L-tryptophan in P. robustus). Four free phenolic acids were detected in methanolic extracts by the HPLC method. The total content ranged from 9.9 mg x 100 g1 DW (P. igniarius) to 32.5 mg x 100 g1 DW (P. robustus).

Stimulation of the activity of a novel tannase produced in white-rot fungi Phellinus pini, Fomes fomentarius, and Tyromyces pubescens by medium supplementation

In recent years, tannase has gained increasing interest mainly because of its potential applications. One of the most important functions of tannic acid (TA) hydrolase is the release of gallic acid (GA) from complex tannins. The aim of the study was to determine the dynamic changes in tannase activity depending on the carbon source in the culture medium. An extracellular and intracellular tannase activity analysis was carried out with the use of spectrophotometric analysis and confirmed by capillary electrophoresis in cultures of white-rot fungi: Phellinus pini, Fomes fomentarius, and Tyromyces pubescens. The inducible potential of TA and rapeseed meal on the activity of tannin acyl hydrolase was confirmed during 14 days of culturing. Different effects of the tested compounds on stimulation of tannase activity in selected fungal strains have been demonstrated. We concluded that rapeseed meal was the best inducer of tannase activity in the case of P. pini. However, the highest concentrations of GA were observed after stimulation by the TA in the cultures of F. fomentarius and T. pubescens.

Effective stimulation of the biotechnological potential of the medicinal white rot fungus: Phellinus pini by menadione-mediated oxidative stress

The effect of menadione (MQ; 2-methyl-1,4-naphtoquinone), a superoxide-generating agent, on the natural biodegradation system in the medicinal white rot fungus Phellinus pini was determined. While measuring the activities of extracellular manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) and intracellular chitinase, it was found that the application of MQ (0.75 mM) distinctly stimulated the activities of these enzymes in comparison to the control values (without MQ). Using the capillary electrophoresis (CE) method, an increase in the extracellular oxalic acid (OXA) concentration was detected during the first days after the addition of MQ. It was observed that the rate of intracellular proteolysis at pH 3.5 evidently decreased under oxidative stress conditions. Contrary to these results, the activities of serine proteases at pH 9.5 measured against fluorogenic peptide substrates distinctly increased in stressed cultures. The MQ treatment also caused an evident increase in the catalase (CAT) activity, as well as the levels of superoxide anion radicals (SORs), formaldehyde (FA), and phenolic compounds (PHC) in the experimental cultures. The results obtained confirm that prooxidants may find application as an effective way to stimulate biotechnological production of MnP and chitinase by white rot fungi.