Chemical screening identifies the anticancer properties of Polyporous parvovarius

The Potential of Mushroom Extracts to Improve Chemotherapy Efficacy in Cancer Cells: A Systematic Review

Chemoresistance is a challenge in cancer treatment, limiting the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Mushroom extracts have shown potential as treatments for cancer therapies, offering a possible solution to overcome chemoresistance. This systematic review aimed to explore the role of mushroom extracts in enhancing chemotherapy and reversing chemoresistance in cancer cells. We searched the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases, following the PRISMA guidelines, and registered on PROSPERO. The extracts acted by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells, as well as enhancing the effect of chemotherapy. The mechanisms by which they acted included regulating anti-apoptotic proteins, inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, inhibiting the ERK1/2 pathway, modulating microRNAs and regulating p-glycoprotein. These results highlight the potential of mushroom extracts to modulate multiple mechanisms in order to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. This work sheds light on the use of mushroom extracts as an aid to chemotherapy to combat chemoresistance. Although studies are limited, the diversity of mushrooms and their bioactive compounds show promising results for innovative strategies to treat cancer more effectively. It is crucial to carry out further studies to better understand the therapeutic potential of mushroom extracts to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy in cancer cells.

Polyporus ulleungus mycelia cultured in MEB medium produce metabolites with anticancer property

Cancer cells are characterized by apoptosis evasion and uncontrolled cell cycle progression. To combat these characteristics, efforts have been made to find novel natural-source anticancer compounds. The aim of this work is to find new anticancer compounds in Polyporus ulleungus (P. ulleungus) mycelial culture extracts. P. ulleungus mycelium was cultured on four individual media (DYB, MEB, MYB, and PDB) and four extracts were generated from the mycelium culture media. Extracts of P. ulleungus mycelium cultured in MEB medium (pu-MEB) significantly reduced cancer cell growth by triggering apoptosis and S phase arrest. Furthermore, the anticancer effects of pu-MEB were not confined to one type of cancer. Taken together, our results confirmed that P. ulleungus mycelia cultured in MEB medium produce metabolites that exhibit anticancer properties. Development of an optimal medium for P. ulleungus mycelium through optimization of medium components will enable P. ulleungus mycelium to produce metabolites with more anticancer efficacy.

Comparative Analysis of Anticancer and Antibacterial Activities among Seven Trametes Species

Species in the genus Trametes (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) have been used in natural medicine for a long time. Many studies reported that mycelia or fruiting bodies of Trametes spp. exhibited effects of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities. However, comparative analysis in this genus is scarce due to limitation of morphological identification and the sample number. In this study, the 19 strains of seven Trametes species were chosen to generate a five-gene-based phylogeny with the 31 global references. In addition, 39 culture extracts were prepared for 13 strains to test for anticancer and antibacterial activities. Strong anticancer activities were found in several extracts from T. hirsuta and T. suaveolens. Anticancer activities of T. suaveolens, T. cf. junipericola and T. trogii were first described here. The antibacterial ability of T. versicolor and T. hirsuta extracts has been confirmed. The antibacterial activities of T. suaveolens have been reported at the first time in this study. These results suggest an efficient application of the genus Trametes as the drug resources especially for anticancer agents.

Chemical screening identifies the anticancer properties of Polyporous tuberaster

Most conventional anticancer drugs cause resistance to chemotherapy, which has emerged as one of the major obstacles to cancer treatment. In order to address this issue, efforts have been made to select new anticancer compounds from natural sources. The aim of this study is to identify novel anticancer compounds from mycelial culture extracts belonging to Polyporus tuberaster (P. tuberaster). Here, we found that mycelial culture extracts of P. tuberaster cultured in PDB medium (pt-PDB) effectively inhibited cancer cell growth. pt-PDB reduced the growth of cancer cells through apoptosis induction and S-phase arrest. The anticancer efficacy of pt-PDB was not to limited to one type of cancer. Furthermore, unlike traditional anticancer medications, pt-PDB did not increase the proportion of side population (SP) cells, which plays a key role in the development of chemoresistance. Taken together, we discovered a novel anticancer drug candidate that has anticancer properties without increasing the proportion of SP cells. This new drug candidate can be used for the treatment of cancer, especially chemoresistant malignancies, and will provide a breakthrough in the treatment of chemoresistant cancer.