Abstract
Antrodan, a protein-bound polysaccharide isolated from Antrodia cinnamomea mycelia, was demonstrated to exhibit significant anti-inflammatory bioactivity in vitro. However, its role in hepatic injury in vivo still remains unclear. We hypothesized that antrodan may have beneficial hepatoprotective effects. To verify this, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Sprague-Dawley rat model was used. Antrodan protected against liver damage by suppressing LPS-stimulated serum glutamine-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), interleukin (IL)-6, hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitric oxide (NO), inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and by effectively alleviating the downregulated hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed that antrodan at a dosage of 40 mg/kg was able to alleviate LPS-induced liver damage to a normal status. In addition, we identified the partial main architectural backbone of antrodan to have a 1→3 linear β-glycosidic backbone of mannan linked by β-1→3 glucosidic branches. Conclusively, antrodan can potentially ameliorate liver damage in vivo by suppressing oxidative stress induced by LPS.
Highlights
Beta-glucans are commonly found at high levels in fungi, yeast, oats, barley, and bacteria [1,2]
We identified antrodan to be a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 442611 kDa which contains 14.10% carbohydrates, 71.0% protein, and a profound content of uronic acid (152.660.8 mg/g) [18]
In order to determine the nature of the linkages among different monosaccharides in the polysaccharide moiety of antrodan, the reduced polymers were permethylated and subjected to a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis (Fig. 1A)
Summary
Beta-glucans are commonly found at high levels in fungi, yeast, oats, barley, and bacteria [1,2]. Their potential bioactivities were reported to involve immunomodulation [3,4]. The protein-bound polysaccharide K (trade name Krestin, or PSK) was approved in a phase 1 clinical trial of breast cancer by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2007 [11]. Combining PSK with chemotherapy prolonged the survival rate of patients with gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and small-cell lung carcinoma [13]. AC fruiting bodies are effective against numerous diseases including hepatitis, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypertension, and tumorigenic diseases [15]. The cited biological effects of AC are mostly limited to its triterpene content [15,14], while the hepatoprotective bioactivity of AC polysaccharides has not been examined
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