Safety Evaluation of Sclerotium from a Medicinal Mushroom, Lignosus cameronensis (Cultivar): Preclinical Toxicology Studies

Comparative analysis of medicinal attributes between Lignosus cameronensis and its sister species

Lignosus cameronensis holds promise for exploration given its morphological likeness to the renowned Lignosus rhinocerus, or tiger milk mushroom. Investigating its potential medicinal and industrial applications addresses a significant knowledge gap in this field. A comparative analysis with other Lignosus species and cultivars provides insights into biopharmacological potential. L. cameronensis cold water extract (LC-CWE) displayed moderate antioxidant activity, demonstrating promising Trolox equivalent antioxidant -capacity. Variable cytotoxicity was observed in different cell lines, with an IC50 of 215 μg/ml against breast cancer cells (MCF-7) cells. LC-CWE exhibited anti-inflammatory potential with an ED50 of 60 mg/kg in a λ-carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model. Comparison with other Lignosus species and cultivars emphasised LC-CWE's distinct attributes, including high phenolic content and moderate antioxidant capacity. LC-CWE displayed potential in selectively inhibiting MCF-7 cells and reducing inflammation, highlighting its medicinal promise. This research expands our understanding of L. cameronensis and underscores the need for further mechanistic exploration.

Nutritional evaluation on Lignosus cameronensis C. S. Tan, a medicinal Polyporaceae

Sclerotial powder of a cultivated species of the Tiger Milk Mushroom, Lignosus cameronensis was analysed for its nutritional components and compared against species of the same genus, Lignosus rhinocerus and Lignosus tigris. All three species have been used by indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia as medicinal mushrooms. Content of carbohydrate, fibre, mineral, amino acid, palatable index, fat, ash and moisture were determined. L. cameronensis sclerotial material consists of carbohydrate (79.7%), protein (12.4%) and dietary fibre (5.4%) with low fat (1.7%) and no free sugar. It has the highest content of total carbohydrate (791 g kg^-1 ), energy value (3,700 kcal kg^-1 ) and calcium (0.85 g kg^-1 ). The crude protein content (123 g kg^-1 ) is comparable to that of L. rhinocerus with its main amino acids consisting of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and leucine. The umami index is determined to be 0.27. The total essential amino acid (45 g kg^-1 ) is comparable to that of L. tigris. The main mineral is potassium (1.51 g kg^-1 ) and the Na/K ratio was <0.6. Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead and arsenic were absent. L. cameronensis has the highest amount of food energy, total carbohydrate and calcium compared to those of both L. rhinocerus and L. tigris. The essential amino acids comprised almost 40% of the total amino acid content, slightly more than that reported from sclerotial powder of the L. tigris. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 9999(9999):1-6, 2019.