Antibacterial activity of the methanol extract of three polypore macrofungi Phellinus rimosus, Ganoderma lucidum and Navesporus floccosa were studied. The activity was evaluated by hole-plate diffusion and microtitre plate dilution methods using Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, and Bacillus subtilis. The methanol extract of P. rimosus and N. floccosa showed activity against all the strains at a concentration of 800 mg/well and 1 mg/well, respectively. The methanol extract of G. lucidum showed activity against E. coli, S. typhimurium and B. subtilis at a concentration of 1 mg/well. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of P. rimosus and N. flocossa were found to be 500 mg/well and 1 mg/well, respectively. The MIC of G. lucidum was also found to be 1 mg/well. Chemical analysis of the methanol extracts of these fungi indicated the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, quinones and terpenes.

Free radical mediated genetic instability is widely thought to be a major etiological factor for initiation of carcinogenesis. Mushrooms represent a largely untapped source of powerful new pharmaceutical products. In the present study, we examined the antiperoxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antimutagenic activities of the ethanol extract of the mycelium of a medicinal mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum, occurring in south India. Antiperoxidative activity was evaluated using Fe(2+)-ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate and a phorbol ester (croton oil)-induced lipid peroxidation in mouse skin. Antiinflammatory activity was evaluated against carrageenan-induced acute and formalin-induced chronic inflammatory paw edema in mouse and phorbol ester-induced mouse skin inflammation. Antimutagenic activity was determined by the Ames mutagenicity assay using histidine mutant of Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98, TA100, and TA102. Sodium azide (NaN(3)), N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPD), and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) were used as the mutagens. The extract showed significant inhibition of Fe(2+)-induced peroxidation of lipid in rat liver (IC(50) 510 +/- 22 microg/ml) and 37% inhibition of croton oil-induced peroxidation on the mouse skin at 20 mg/0.1 ml/skin. Carrageenan-induced acute and formalin-induced chronic inflammatory edema were inhibited by 56 and 60%, respectively, by the extract at 1,000 mg/kg body wt (i.p). The extract at a concentration of 5 mg/plate showed inhibition of mutagenicity elicited by direct acting mutagens, NaN(3) (55.5 and 75.7%) and MNNG (50.0 and 57.5%) for S. typhymurium strains TA100 and TA102, respectively. The extract at the same concentration also inhibited mutagenicity elicited by NPD (52.4 and 64.2%) and B[a]P (60.7 and 59.6%) for TA98 and TA100 strains, respectively. The B[a]P was activated in the presence of rat liver microsomal (S9) fraction. The results of our study revealed that ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium possessed significant antiperoxidative, antiinflammatory, and antimutagenic activities. The findings suggest a medicinal use for the ethanol extract of the mycelium of G. lucidum occurring in South India.

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The capacity of a chemical to produce liver damage in vivo often results from interaction of a series of complex cellular processes that are involved in the uptake, biotransformation, and elimination of potentially toxic compounds. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in the pathophysiology of a number of human ailments including carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity.