Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Wild Mushroom, Echinodontium tinctorium, in RAW264.7 Macrophage Cells and Mouse Microcirculation.

Sumreen Javed,Hugues B Massicotte,Peter C.K Cheung,Wai Ming Li,Linda E Tackaberry,Chow H Lee,Almas Yaqoob,Keith N Egger,Mehreen Zeb,Geoffrey W Payne

doi:10.3390/molecules24193509

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of a previously un-studied wild mushroom, Echinodontium tinctorium, collected from the forests of north-central British Columbia. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophage model was used to study the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. The crude alkaline extract demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity, and was further purified using a “bio-activity-guided-purification” approach. The size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography yielded a water-soluble anti-inflammatory polysaccharide (AIPetinc). AIPetinc has an average molecular weight of 5 kDa, and is a heteroglucan composed of mainly glucose (88.6%) with a small amount of galactose (4.0%), mannose (4.4%), fucose (0.7%), and xylose (2.3%). In in vivo settings, AIPetinc restored the histamine-induced inflammatory event in mouse gluteus maximus muscle, thus confirming its anti-inflammatory activity in an animal model. This study constitutes the first report on the bioactivity of Echinodontium tinctorium, and highlights the potential medicinal benefits of fungi from the wild forests of northern British Columbia. Furthermore, it also reiterates the need to explore natural resources for alternative treatment to modern world diseases.

Highlights

Fungi represent a major and largely untapped source of potentially powerful new pharmaceutical natural products
Most studies pertaining to E. tinctorium relate to its taxonomy, disease cycle, and management [4,5,7,8,9], but this conk has a history of use as an anti-bacterial agent by Indigenous peoples [10]
The collected fungi were tentatively identified as Echinodontium tinctorium

Summary

Introduction

Fungi represent a major and largely untapped source of potentially powerful new pharmaceutical natural products. There have been relatively few studies directed at finding medicinal compounds from forest fungi in British Columbia (BC), Canada. To this end, we have begun to explore medicinal properties of BC native fungi, focusing first on three bioassays that are relevant to cancer: growth-inhibitory, immuno-stimulatory, and anti-inflammatory activities [1,2]. Echinodontium tinctorium is a white rot, able to decay both wood lignin and cellulose. It produces a woody, large hydnaceous basidiocarp or conk [4,5] that typically grows beneath dead branch stubs on live tree trunks [6]. Most studies pertaining to E. tinctorium relate to its taxonomy, disease cycle, and management [4,5,7,8,9], but this conk has a history of use as an anti-bacterial agent by Indigenous peoples [10]

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