Simultaneous Quantification of Antioxidant Compounds in Phellinus igniarius Using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array Detection-Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Development of RP HPLC-PDA method for simultaneous quantitative analysis of Inoscavin A and Meshimakobnol A and application on some Phellinus mushroom species

Phellinus igniarius, a medicinal mushroom containing many active ingredients with health benefits, can be applied in functional food. At present, the quantification of the main active ingredients from higher fungi (Ganoderma, Phellinus…) materials from different growing sources is a mandatory requirement to standardize the input resources of pharmaceutical and food production. Our study's aims are to perfect the RP HPLC-PDA method for quantitative analysis of Inoscavin A and Meshimakobnol A which are two main active ingredients present in Phellinus mushroom. In this analytical method, a C18-HPLC column and the mixture of methanol and formic acid solutions (pH = 2.2) are used to analyze and elute the active substances with the column activity parameters being the concentration gradient. This perfect method was tested for system suitability, repeatability, intermediate precision, recovery, and linear curve calibration to validate the method. After validation, the perfected RP HPLC-PDA method was applied to analyze eight samples of Phellinus and three samples of Ganoderma mushroom category. This method can be the basis for classifying between Phellinus and some other medicinal mushrooms.

First Description of Non-Enzymatic Radical-Generating Mechanisms Adopted by Fomitiporia mediterranea: An Unexplored Pathway of the White Rot Agent of the Esca Complex of Diseases

Fomitiporia mediterranea (Fmed) is the primary Basidiomycota species causing white rot in European vineyards affected by the Esca complex of diseases (ECD). In the last few years, an increasing number of studies have highlighted the importance of reconsidering the role of Fmed in ECD etiology, justifying an increase in research interest related to Fmed's biomolecular pathogenetic mechanisms. In the context of the current re-evaluation of the binary distinction (brown vs. white rot) between biomolecular decay pathways induced by Basidiomycota species, our research aims to investigate the potential for non-enzymatic mechanisms adopted by Fmed, which is typically described as a white rot fungus. Our results demonstrate how, in liquid culture reproducing nutrient restriction conditions often found in wood, Fmed can produce low molecular weight compounds, the hallmark of the non-enzymatic "chelator-mediated Fenton" (CMF) reaction, originally described for brown rot fungi. CMF reactions can redox cycle with ferric iron, generating hydrogen peroxide and ferrous iron, necessary reactants leading to hydroxyl radical (^•OH) production. These observations led to the conclusion that a non-enzymatic radical-generating CMF-like mechanism may be utilized by Fmed, potentially together with an enzymatic pool, to contribute to degrading wood constituents; moreover, indicating significant variability between strains.

Inhibitory Effect of Styrylpyrone Extract of Phellinus linteus on Hepatic Steatosis in HepG2 Cells

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to be approximately about 25.24% of the population worldwide. NAFLD is a complex syndrome and is characterized by a simple benign hepatocyte steatosis to more severe steatohepatitis in the liver pathology. Phellinus linteus (PL) is traditionally used as a hepatoprotective supplement. Styrylpyrone-enriched extract (SPEE) obtained from the PL mycelia has been shown to have potential inhibition effects on high-fat- and high-fructose-diet-induced NAFLD. In the continuous study, we aimed to explore the inhibitory effects of SPEE on free fatty acid mixture O/P [oleic acid (OA): palmitic acid (PA); 2:1, molar ratio]-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Results showed that SPEE presented the highest free radical scavenging ability on DPPH and ABTS, and reducing power on ferric ions, better than that of partitions obtained from n-hexane, n-butanol and distilled water. In free-fatty-acid-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells, SPEE showed an inhibition effect on O/P-induced lipid accumulation of 27% at a dosage of 500 μg/mL. As compared to the O/P induction group, the antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase were enhanced by 73%, 67% and 35%, respectively, in the SPEE group. In addition, the inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) were significantly down-regulated by the SPEE treatment. The expressions of anti-adipogenic genes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism of 5' adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) were enhanced in the SPEE supplemented HepG2 cells. In the protein expression study, p-AMPK, SIRT1 and PGC1-α were significantly increased to 121, 72 and 62%, respectively, after the treatment of SPEE. Conclusively, the styrylpyrone-enriched extract SPEE can ameliorate lipid accumulation and decrease inflammation and oxidative stress through the activation of SIRT1/AMPK/PGC1-α pathways.

Inoscavin A, a pyrone compound isolated from a Sanghuangporus vaninii extract, inhibits colon cancer cell growth and induces cell apoptosis via the hedgehog signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Sanghuangporus vaninii, a large precious medicinal fungus called Sanghuang in China, has significant antitumor activity. We previously reported that a Sanghuangporus vaninii extract could lead to apoptosis in HT-29 cells through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. We further found that Inoscavin A exhibited anti-colon cancer activity, but its specific mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.

METHODS

Inoscavin A was obtained from Sanghuangporus vaninii by the classic phytochemical separation technology. The male BALB/c nude mice were injected with HT-29 colon cancer cells as animal model. In order to observe the pathological changes of tumor section, the hematoxylin-eosin(H&E) staining was applied in the histological analysis. Metabolomics was utilized for the investigation of the overall changes of serum metabolites in animal model, and the potential targets of Inoscavin A were analyzed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). We further employed a molecular docking approach to predict the degree of combination of Inoscavin A and Smo. Then we further performed Western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis to investigate the expression of proteins involved in Hh-related pathways in tumor tissues. In addition, the colony formation assay, scratch-wound assay and transwell migration and invasion assay were conducted to evaluate the anti-colon-cancer activity of Inoscavin A. Concurrently, the mitochondrial membrane potential assay and TUNEL apoptosis assay were detected to demonstrate the effect of Inoscavin A on promoting HT-29 cells apoptosis. Western blot experiments verified the anti-tumor effects of Inoscavin A were modulated the protein expression of Shh, Ptch1, Smo and Gli1 in HT-29 cells.

RESULTS

We showed that Inoscavin A, a pyrone compound isolated from the Sanghuangporus vaninii extract, exerted its antitumor activity in an HT-29 colon cancer cell xenograft mouse model. Subsequently, we first time prove that the antitumor effects of Inoscavin A were related to the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Smo, the core receptor of the Hh pathway, was critical for the induction of apoptosis of Inoscavin A and that overexpression of this target could significantly rescue cell apoptosis induced by Inoscavin A treatment.

CONCLUSION

Thus, our studies first propose that the natural outgrowth Inoscavin A exerted its anti-cancer effects by inhibiting Smo to suppress the activity of the Hh pathway though inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis. These findings further indicate that Inoscavin A will be expected to be a prospective remedical compound for the treatment of colon cancer.

Anti-Gout Effects of the Medicinal Fungus Phellinus igniarius in Hyperuricaemia and Acute Gouty Arthritis Rat Models

Background:Phellinus igniarius (P. igniarius) is an important medicinal and edible fungus in China and other Southeast Asian countries and has diverse biological activities. This study was performed to comparatively investigate the therapeutic effects of wild and cultivated P. igniarius on hyperuricaemia and gouty arthritis in rat models.

Methods: UPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS was used to identify the chemical constituents of polyphenols from wild P. igniarius (WPP) and cultivated P. igniarius (CPP). Furthermore, WPP and CPP were evaluated in an improved hyperuricaemia rat model induced by yeast extract, adenine and potassium oxonate, which was used to examine xanthine oxidase (XO) activity inhibition and anti-hyperuricemia activity. WPP and CPP therapies for acute gouty arthritis were also investigated in a monosodium urate (MSU)-induced ankle swelling model. UHPLC-QE-MS was used to explore the underlying metabolic mechanisms of P. igniarius in the treatment of gout.

Results: The main active components of WPP and CPP included protocatechuic aldehyde, hispidin, davallialactone, phelligridimer A, hypholomine B and inoscavin A as identified by UPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS. Wild P. igniarius and cultivated P. igniarius showed similar activities in reducing uric acid levels through inhibiting XO activity and down-regulating the levels of UA, Cr and UN, and they had anti-inflammatory activities through down-regulating the secretions of ICAM-1, IL-1β and IL-6 in the hyperuricaemia rat model. The pathological progression of kidney damage was also reversed. The polyphenols from wild and cultivated P. igniarius also showed significant anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing the expression of ICAM-1, IL-1β and IL-6 and by reducing the ankle joint swelling degree in an MSU-induced acute gouty arthritis rat model. The results of metabolic pathway enrichment indicated that the anti-hyperuricemia effect of WPP was mainly related to the metabolic pathways of valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis and histidine metabolism. Additionally, the anti-hyperuricemia effect of CPP was mainly related to nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism and beta-alanine metabolism.

Conclusions: Wild P. igniarius and cultivated P. igniarius both significantly affected the treatment of hyperuricaemia and acute gouty arthritis models in vivo and therefore may be used as potential active agents for the treatment of hyperuricaemia and acute gouty arthritis.

Metabolomics study of the hepatoprotective effect of Phellinus igniarius in chronic ethanol-induced liver injury mice using UPLC-Q/TOF-MS combined with ingenuity pathway analysis

BACKGROUND

Phellinus igniarius (L.) Quèl as a potential medicinal mushroom possesses multiple biological activities including hepatoprotection, but the hepatoprotective mechanism is not clear.

PURPOSE

To elucidate the hepatoprotective effect and potential target of P. igniarius.

METHODS

The male C57BL/6 mice were fed with the Lieber-DeCarli diet containing alcohol or isocaloric maltose dextrin as control diet with or without P. igniarius decoction (PID) in the dosage of 0.65 g/kg and 2.6 g/kg. The levels of serum biomarkers were detected by an automatic biochemistry analyser. The histopathological changes of liver were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) was applied for investigating the dynamic changes of serum metabolites in chronic ethanol-induced liver injury mice and after treatment with PID. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) was employed to identify the potential target of PID.

RESULTS

PID could significantly reduce the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG) and total bile acid (TBA) in serum and improved hepatic steatosis and inflammation. In terms of metabolism, a total of 36 serum differential metabolites were identified, and PID intervention regulated 24 of them, involving the key metabolic pathways such as the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, primary bile acid biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, fatty acids biosynthesis, ether lipid metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism. On the mechanism, IPA showed that farnesol X receptor (FXR) was the major potential target for PID, and PID could improve chronic alcohol intake induced by the inhibition of mRNA expression of FXR in the liver and the activation of mRNA expression of FXR in the intestine in mice.

CONCLUSION

The present study for the first time systematically illustrated the hepatoprotective effect of P. igniarius and preliminarily explored its potential target FXR. P. igniarius might be exploited as a promising therapeutic option for alcoholic liver injury.

The applicability of high-speed counter current chromatography to the separation of natural antioxidants

Antioxidants play an essential role in human health, as they have been found to be capable of lowering the incidence of many diseases, such as cancer and angiocardiopathy. Currently, more attention is paid to natural antioxidants because of the possible insecurity of synthetic antioxidants. Thus, the development of efficient techniques or methods to separate antioxidants from natural sources is requested urgently. High-speed counter current chromatography (HSCCC) is a unique support-free liquid-liquid chromatographic technique and has been widely applied in the field of separation of natural products. In this review, we summarize and analyze the related researches on the application of HSCCC in the separation of various natural antioxidants so far. The purpose of the article is to provide a certain theoretical support for the separation of natural antioxidants by HSCCC, and to make full use of advantages of HSCCC in the separation of bioactive components. In particular, some key problems associated with the separation strategies, the structural categories of natural antioxidants, solvent system choices, and the application of different elution modes in HSCCC separation, are summarized and commented. We expect that the content reviewed can offer more evidence for the development of the field of natural antioxidants separation, so as to achieve large-scale preparation of natural antioxidants.

Sesquiterpenes from cultures of the fungus Phellinus igniarius and their Cytotoxicities

Four new sesquiterpenoids, phellinignins A-D (1-4), together with four known ones (5-8), were isolated from cultures of the fungus Phellinus igniarius. The structures were established by extensive spectroscopic methods including MS, NMR, and the single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1-3 and 5-8 are tremulane sesquiterpenoids, while compound 4 possesses a new carbon skeleton that might derive from an illudane framework. Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 showed certain cytotoxicities to three human cancer cell lines.

Laser Mutagenesis of Phellinus igniarius Protoplasts for the Selective Breeding of Strains with High Laccase Activity

Phellinus igniarius is a medicinal fungus that utilizes lignin as a nutrient substrate. This fungus has a weak lignin degradation ability and, as a result, a slow growth rate. Laccases are crucial enzymes for lignin degradation in P. igniarius, and thus, the cultivation of strains with high laccase activity is expected to increase the growth rate of P. igniarius. To generate P. igniarius strains with high laccase activity, we performed laser mutagenesis of P. igniarius protoplasts and screened for mutants with high laccase activity. Our results showed that the laser power density and P. igniarius protoplast survival rate exhibited a power-function relationship. The power density threshold value between lethality and growth promotion was 0.24 mW/mm². Mutagenesis was carried out using a laser beam diameter of 3 mm and an irradiation period of 40 min. After five generations of selection, we identified a high laccase activity strain, termed SJZ2. The laccase activity in SJZ2 during 4 h of fermentation was increased by 36.84% in comparison with the control and ranged from 0.20216 to 0.27664 U. The Km and Vmax of the laccase produced by SJZ2 were 0.21 mmol/mL and 0.53 mmol/L/min, respectively. This study demonstrated the feasibility of laser mutagenesis of P. igniarius protoplasts for the selection of high laccase activity. This study characterized the key factors in the laser mutagenesis process of P. igniarius protoplasts and provided a reference for the application of lasers in biological mutagenesis. Future studies should evaluate the bioactive functionality and stability of this novel strain of P. igniarius, particularly the organoleptic and medical characteristics of the fruiting bodies.

Biodiversity and threats in non-protected areas: A multidisciplinary and multi-taxa approach focused on the Atlantic Forest

Along many decades, protected environments were targeted by the scientific community for ecological research and for the collection of scientific information related to environmental aspects and biodiversity. However, most of the territory in hotspot regions with weak or even non legal protection has been left aside. These non-protected areas (NPA) could host high biodiversity values. This paper addresses how scientific effort on a NPA (CIAR) of 700 ha from the Atlantic Rain Forest, generates new information and tools for large-scale environmental and biodiversity management in NPAs. Information published during the last decade was summarized and complemented with subsequent novel data about biodiversity (new species, first records, DNA and chemical analyses, etc.). The results showed: 1 new genus (arachnid), 6 new species and several putative new species (fish and arthropod), 6 vulnerable species (bird and mammal) and 36 first records for Argentina (fish, arthropod, platyhelminth and fungi). When compared with protected natural areas of the same biome, the CIAR showed highly valuable aspects for fauna and environment conservation, positioning this NPA as a worldwide hotspot for some taxa. Indeed, when compared to international hotspots in a coordinated Malaise trap program, the CIAR showed 8,651 different barcode index numbers (∼species) of arthropods, 80% of which had not been previously barcoded. Molecules like Inoscavin A, with antifungal activity against phytopathogens, was isolated for the first time in Phellinus merrillii fungi. The study of major threats derived from anthropic activities measured 20 trace elements, 18 pesticides (i.e. endosulfans, chlorpyrifos, DDTs, HCHs) and 27 pharmaceuticals and drugs (i.e. benzoylecgonine and norfluoxetine) in different biotic and abiotic matrices (water, sediment, fish and air biomonitors). This integrated data analysis shows that biodiversity research in NPA is being undervalued and how multidisciplinary and multi-taxa surveys creates a new arena for research and a pathway towards sustainable development in emerging countries with biodiversity hotspots.

A Combined Phytochemistry and Network Pharmacology Approach to Reveal the Potential Antitumor Effective Substances and Mechanism of Phellinus igniarius

Phellinus igniarius (P. igniarius) is a medicinal fungus that is widely used in East Asia for the adjuvant treatment of cancer. To elucidate the antitumor effective substances and mechanism of P. igniarius, we designed an approach incorporating cytotoxicity screening, phytochemical analysis, network pharmacology construction, and cellular and molecular experiments. The dichloromethane extract of P. igniarius (DCMPI) was identified as the active portion in HT-29 cells. Nineteen constituents were identified, and 5 were quantified by UPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS. Eight ingredients were obtained in the network pharmacology study. In total, 473 putative targets associated with DCMPI and 350 putative targets related to colon cancer were derived from online databases and target prediction tools. Protein-protein interaction networks of drug and disease putative targets were constructed, and 84 candidate targets were identified based on topological features. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the candidate targets were mostly related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolic processes and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Then, a cellular experiment was used to validate the drug-target mechanisms predicted by the system pharmacology analysis. Experimental results showed that DCMPI increased intracellular ROS levels and induced HT-29 cell apoptosis. Molecular biology experiments indicated that DCMPI not only increased Bax and Bad protein expression and promoted PARP and caspase-3/9 cleavage but also down-regulated Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl protein levels to induce apoptosis in HT-29 cells. In conclusion, our study provides knowledge on the chemical composition and antitumor mechanism of P. igniarius, which may be exploited as a promising therapeutic option for colon cancer.