A Ganoderma lucidum extract derived from Mexican genetic resources and its effect on lipid metabolism gene expression and liver fatty acid composition

Abstract

The medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Gl) provides diverse health benefits, however, strains from Mexican origin have not yet been studied. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of the consumption of a standardized Gl extract in mice fed a high colesterol diet on the expression of genes involved in fatty acid and colesterol metabolism in the liver, as well as the impact on liver lipid concentration and fatty acid composition. Mice were fed 20% casein (AIN93G) diet, with and without cholesterol (0.5%) and supplemented with a low and high dose of Gl extract. Mice fed with high dose of Gl extract in the diet gained less body weight than mice fed control diet or low dose Gl extract and high colesterol diet. Consumption of Gl extract significantly reduced hepatic and serum cholesterol and triglycerides concentration compared to high cholesterol group. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of expression of lipogenic genes (SREBP1, FAS, ACC) as well genes involved in reverse cholesterol transport (ABCG5, ABCG8) in the liver. The consumption of Gl extract modified the fatty acid composition in liver. Mice fed with Gl extract showed a decrease of SFA, while an increase of MUFA and PUFA, as compared to mice fed with high cholesterol diet. Our data showed that the Gl extract effectively regulates lipid metabolism through the presence of bioactive compounds helping to prevent the accumulation of hepatic lipids.This work was supported by CONACYT