Abstract
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) at high concentration has been reported to alter the physiological and biochemical states of animals and humans. Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a polypore mushroom reported to possess many medicinal attributes such as anticholesterolemia and the control of hormonal disorders. The present study investigated the effect of water extract of G. lucidum in the changes of haematology, oestradiol, cholesterol and protein levels of Wistar rats induced by MSG. Haematological analysis was determined from plasma, while oestrogen, serum total protein and cholesterol levels were determined from the serum of the rats. Results showed that MSG significantly raised the level of oestrogen (62.5 ± 0.28 pg/mL) in the rats which was significantly reduced in the rats fed with MSG for 30 days before treating them with the extracts of G. lucidum (30.85 ± 12.94 pg/mL–44.15 ± 0.92 pg/mL) and in rats fed concurrently with MSG and G. lucidum. The cholesterol level was significantly reduced in the rats treated with MSG and G. lucidum (200 mg/kg) concurrently compared to rats fed with MSG alone. The white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) levels were within normal in rats fed with both MSG and G. lucidum as in the control group while the rats fed with MSG only had low WBC, neutrophil (NEU) and RBC. This could imply that G. lucidum ameliorates the effect of MSG on serum oestrogen, serum cholesterol, WBCs, NEU, platelets and lymphocytes.
Highlights
The fungal genus Ganoderma contains about 200 species and is a member of the Ganodermataceace, is a mushroom family characterised by unique double-walled basidiospores (Ofodile et al 2005; Zhou et al 2015)
The results showed that the level of white blood cells (WBCs) and red blood cells (RBCs) in the rats fed with only Monosodium glutamate (MSG) decreased significantly (p 0.05) compared with the control
Rats treated with MSG and G. lucidum [MSG + G. lucidum (200 mg/kg)] concurrently for 60 days recorded the same normal RBC counts as in the control
Summary
The fungal genus Ganoderma contains about 200 species and is a member of the Ganodermataceace, is a mushroom family characterised by unique double-walled basidiospores (Ofodile et al 2005; Zhou et al 2015). The taxonomy of Ganoderma species is globally known to be chaotic and the taxonomic relationships among taxa are still under investigation (Zhou et al 2015). It is a bracket fungus and the most laccate species of Ganoderma. Recent researches report that G. lucidum contains about 400 bioactive substances that are mostly polysaccharides and triterpenes (Basnet et al 2017). These compounds have anti-inflammatory, radical oxygen scavenging, antitumour, immune-enhancing and antimicrobial activities (Sanodiya et al 2009; Jin et al 2012)
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