Inhibition effects of polysaccharides on HBV replication and cell proliferation from Lentinus edodes waste material

Lentinan Protects against Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis via the PPARα Pathway

Lentinan (LNT), a type of polysaccharide derived from Lentinus edodes, has manifested protective effects during liver injury and hepatocellular carcinoma, but little is known about its effects on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to investigate whether LNT can affect the progression of NAFLD and the associated mechanisms. C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal chow diet or a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without LNT (6 mg/kg/d). AML12 cells were exposed to 200 μM palmitate acid (PA) with or without LNT (5 μg/mL). After 21 wk of the high-fat diet, LNT significantly decreased plasma triglyceride levels and liver lipid accumulation, reduced excessive reactive oxygen species production, and subsequently attenuated hepatic apoptosis in NAFLD mice. These effects were associated with increased PPARα levels, a decreased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and enhancement of the antioxidant defense system in vivo. Similar effects were also observed in cultured cells. More importantly, these protective effects of LNT on palmitate acid-treated AML12 cells were almost abolished by PPARα knockdown. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that LNT may ameliorate hepatic steatosis and decrease oxidative stress and apoptosis by activating the PPARα pathway and is a potential drug target for NAFLD.

Classification, structure and mechanism of antiviral polysaccharides derived from edible and medicinal fungus

The deficiency of chemical-synthesized antiviral drugs when applied in clinical therapy, such as drug resistance, and the lack of effective antiviral drugs to treat some newly emerging virus infections, such as COVID-19, promote the demand of novelty and safety anti-virus drug candidate from natural functional ingredient. Numerous studies have shown that some polysaccharides sourcing from edible and medicinal fungus (EMFs) exert direct or indirect anti-viral capacities. However, the internal connection of fungus type, polysaccharides structural characteristics, action mechanism was still unclear. Herein, our review focus on the two aspects, on the one hand, we discussed the type of anti-viral EMFs and the structural characteristics of polysaccharides to clarify the structure-activity relationship, on the other hand, the directly or indirectly antiviral mechanism of EMFs polysaccharides, including virus function suppression, immune-modulatory activity, anti-inflammatory activity, regulation of population balance of gut microbiota have been concluded to provide a comprehensive theory basis for better clinical utilization of EMFs polysaccharides as anti-viral agents.

Anti-HBV Activities of Polysaccharides from Thais clavigera (Küster) by In Vitro and In Vivo Study

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global health problem. It is therefore imperative to develop drugs for anti-hepatitis B with high-efficiency and low toxicity. Attracted by the observations and evidence that the symptoms of some patients from the Southern Fujian, China, suffering from hepatitis B were alleviated after daily eating an edible marine mollusk, Thais clavigera (Küster 1860) (TCK). Water-soluble polysaccharide from TCK (TCKP1) was isolated and characterized. The anti-HBV activity of TCKP1 and its regulatory pathway were investigated on both HepG2.2.15 cell line and HBV transgenic mice. The data obtained from in vitro studies showed that TCKP1 significantly enhanced the production of IFN-α, and reduced the level of HBV antigens and HBV DNA in the supernatants of HepG2.2.15 cells in a dose-dependent manner with low cytotoxicity. The result of the study on the HBV transgenic mice further revealed that TCKP1 significantly decreased the level of transaminases, HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV DNA in the serum, as well as HBsAg, HBeAg, HBV DNA, and HBV RNA in the liver of HBV transgenic (HBV-Tg) mice. Furthermore, TCKP1 exhibited equivalent inhibitory effect with the positive control tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) on the markers above except for HBV DNA even in low dosage in a mouse model. However, the TCKP1 high-dose group displayed stronger inhibition of transaminases and liver HBsAg, HBeAg, and HBV RNA when compared with those of TAF. Meanwhile, inflammation of the liver was, by pathological observation, relieved in a dose-dependent manner after being treated with TCKP1. In addition, elevated levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon γ (IFN-γ), and reduced level of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the serum were observed, indicating that the anti-HBV effect of TCKP1 was achieved by potentiating immunocyte function and regulating the balance of Th1/Th2 cytokines.

Combustion behaviors of pileus and stipe parts of Lentinus edodes using thermogravimetric-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses: Thermal conversion, kinetic, thermodynamic, gas emission and optimization analyses

The combustion behaviors of both Lentinula edodes pileus (LEP) and stipe (LES) were characterized in response to four heating rates in the air atmosphere using thermogravimetric (TG)-mass spectrometry and TG-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. There were two and three main peaks of the derivative TG curves for LEP and LES, respectively, with their main combustion stage occurring between 130 and 620 °C. Four iso-conversional models were compared to estimate activation energy values of their combustions. The main emission peaks of most gases ranged from 200 to 350 °C and from 500 to 600 °C for LEP and LES. Their comprehensive combustion parameters at 20 K/min (1.53 and 2.40 × 10^-6 %²/(min²·K³) for LEP and LES, respectively) as well as joint optimizations confirmed their great potential for bioenergy generation. The waste stream of LEP and LES could be well disposed through their combustions with a low level of air pollution.