Highly oxygenated lanostane triterpenoids from Ganoderma applanatum as a class of agents for inhibiting lipid accumulation in adipocytes

The Artist's Conk Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma applanatum (Agaricomycetes): Mycological, Mycochemical, and Pharmacological Properties: A Review

As a commonly used Chinese herbal medicine, Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Pat., also known as flat-ling Ganoderma (Chinese name bianlingzhi), old mother fungus (laomujun), and old ox liver (laoniugan), has high medicinal value. It is used as an anti-cancer drug in China and Japan. Besides, it can treat rheumatic tuberculosis and has the effect of relieving pain, clearing away heat, eliminating accumulation, stopping bleeding and eliminating phlegm. The purpose of this review is to analyze the research progress systematically and comprehensively in mycology, mycochemistry and pharmacological activities of G. applanatum, and discuss the prospect of prospective research and implementation of this medicinal material. A comprehensive literature search was performed on G. applanatum using scientific databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, CNKI, Elsevier. Collected data from different sources was comprehensively summarized for mycology, mycochemistry and pharmacology of G. applanatum. A total of 324 compounds were recorded, the main components of which were triterpenoids, meroterpenoids, steroids, and polysaccharides. G. applanatum and its active ingredients have a variety of pharmacological effects, including anti-tumor, liver protection, hypoglycemic, anti-fat, anti-oxidation, antibacterial and other activities. Although G. applanatum is widely used in traditional medicine and has diverse chemical constituents, more studies should be carried out in animals and humans to evaluate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in its biological activity.

Ganoapplins A and B with an unprecedented 6/6/6/5/6-fused pentacyclic skeleton from Ganoderma inhibit Tau pathology through activating autophagy

Ganoapplins A and B (1 and 2) with a 6/6/6/5/6-fused pentacyclic skeleton containing an aromatic E ring, were obtained from Ganoderma applanatum. Their structures were established through extensive spectroscopic analyses, quantum chemical calculations, including calculated chemical shifts with DP4 + analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 and 2 was proposed. Furthermore, their roles in activating autophagy were investigated and the cellular assays showed that 1 and 2 can inhibit tau pathology by inducing autophagy, suggesting their potential against Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Modulation of gut microbiota and lipid metabolism in rats fed high-fat diets by Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids

Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids (GP) have been reported to help prevent and improve hyperlipidemia. Modulation of the gut microbiota was proposed as underlying factor as well as a novel measure to prevent and treat hyperlipidemia. The effects of GP on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemia and gut microbiota modulation were determined in rats. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF MS-MS) indicated that GP were enriched with ganoderic acids G, B, H, A, and F. After feeding with GP supplementation, serum lipid levels including total triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly decreased in hyperlipidemic rats. Furthermore, administration of GP also has reversed the HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, including a significant increase in Alloprevotella and reduced proportion of Blautia. The result above suggests that GP would be developed as a functional food to ameliorate lipid metabolic disorders and hyperlipidemia.

Anti-Adipogenic Lanostane-Type Triterpenoids from the Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma applanatum

Our previous research has shown that lanostane triterpenoids from Ganoderma applanatum exhibit significant anti-adipogenesis effects. In order to obtain more structurally diverse lanostane triterpenoids to establish a structure–activity relationship, we continued the study of lanostane triterpenoids from the fruiting bodies of G. applanatum, and forty highly oxygenated lanostane-type triterpenoinds (1–40), including sixteen new compounds (1–16), were isolated. Their structures were elucidated using NMR spectra, X-ray crystallographic analysis, and Mosher’s method. In addition, some of their parts were evaluated to determine their anti-adipogenesis activities in the 3T3-L1 cell model. The results showed that compounds 16, 22, 28, and 32 exhibited stronger anti-adipogenesis effects than the positive control (LiCl, 20 mM) at the concentration of 20 μM. Compounds 15 and 20 could significantly reduce the lipid accumulation during the differentiation process of 3T3-L1 cells, comparable to the untreated group. Their IC₅₀ values were 6.42 and 5.39 μM, respectively. The combined results of our previous and present studies allow us to establish a structure-activity relationship of lanostane triterpenoids, indicating that the A-seco-23→26 lactone skeleton could play a key role in anti-adipogenesis activity.

Triterpenoids and meroterpenoids with α-glucosidase inhibitory activities from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma australe

Macrofungi Ganoderma is a valuable medicinal fungus resource for human health and longevity in China. In this study, ten undescribed compounds including seven lostane-type triterpenoids, ganodaustralic acids A ∼ G (1-7), one pair of meroterpenoid enantiomers, (-)-6'-O-ethyllingzhiol (8) and (+)-6'-O-ethyllingzhiol (9), and one polyhydroxylated sterol, 3-O-acetyl-fomentarol C (10), together with eight known compounds (11-18), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma australe. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis as well as NMR and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Compounds 4, 8, 9, and 12 showed significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values in the range of 4.1-11.7 μM, which were superior to that of positive control acarbose (213 μM). Only compound 7 exhibited weak cytotoxicity against SGC-7901 cells.

FPR2-based anti-inflammatory and anti-lipogenesis activities of novel meroterpenoid dimers from Ganoderma

Four pairs of novel meroterpenoid dimers, (±)-applandimeric acids A-D (1-4) with an unprecedented spiro[furo[3,2-b]benzofuran-3,2'-indene] core were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma applanatum. Their planar structures were unambiguously determined via extensive spectroscopic analysis. Their relative and absolute configurations were confirmed through calculated internuclear distance, coupling constant, ¹³C NMR with DP4 + analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Furthermore, the molecular docking-based method was used to evaluate their interaction with formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) associated with inflammation. Interestingly, (±)-applandimeric acid D (4) can bond with FPR2 by some key hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, an in vitro bioassay verified that 4 can inhibit the expression of FPR2 with IC₅₀ value of 7.93 μM. In addition, compared to the positive control LiCl (20 mM), 4 showed comparable anti-lipogenesis activity at the concentration of 20 μM. Meanwhile, 4 can suppress the protein levels of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-β (C/EBP-β), adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) through activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. Thus, our findings indicate that compound 4 could be a lead compound to treat obesity and obesity-related diseases by inhibiting lipid accumulation in adipocyte and alleviating inflammation.

Functional triterpenoids from medicinal fungi Ganoderma applanatum: A continuous search for antiadipogenic agents

Previously, we have demonstrated the antiadipogenic benefits of Ganoderma triterpenoids (GTs), which indicated GTs have potential therapeutic implications for obesity. In this study, the EtOAc extract of Ganoderma applanatum was further phytochemically investigated for searching new antiadipogenic agents, which led to the isolation of a total of 15 highly oxygenated lanostane triterpenoids, including 9 new compounds (1-9) and 6 known analogues (10-15). Structurally, ganodapplanoic acids A and B (1, 2) are two rearranged 6/6/5/6-fused lanostane-type triterpenoids with an unusual C-13/C-15 oxygen bridge moiety. In addition, the EtOAc extract (GAE) and isolates (1-4,6-15) were assayed for their antiadipogenic effects in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The results revealed that compound 9 effectively repressed adipogenesis through down-regulating the expression of major proteins (PPARγ, CEBPβ and FAS) involving differentiation and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Thus, the present study further demonstrated the antiadipogenic potential of GTs and provided a possible perspective for obesity treatment.