Anticancer activity of an extract of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> soaked in sweetpotato <i>shochu</i> in human leukemia cells

Abstract

Cordyceps militaris, a genus of ascomycete fungai, is used in traditional Chinese medicine. We manufactured cordyceps militaris spirits, termed Kinkirishima(SCS) , by soaking Cordyceps militaris in sweetpotato shochu. This study aims to clarify the cancer chemopreventive effects of SCS extract by investigating the proliferative inhibition and apoptosis induction in human leukemia cells(HL-60). Based on a bioactivity-guided separation, we found that Fraction 1C-Ⅲ(F1C-Ⅲ)from SCS had the strongest inhibitory effects on the proliferation of HL-60 cells. Molecular data showed that F1C-Ⅲ induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells as characterized by DNA fragmentation, Annexin V-FITC assay, the activation of caspase-3, and cleavage of poly(ADP)ribose polymerase(PARP). The major bioactive component of SCS was finally clarified as cordycepin using a LCMS-IT-TOF analysis.

Verification of In Vitro Anticancer Activity and Bioactive Compounds in Cordyceps Militaris-Infused Sweet Potato Shochu Spirits

“…The 21-day-infused spirits were further stored for 90, 150, and 240 days. All these spirits were concentrated to an extract and then eluted using 40% ethanol, which was proven as an effective solvent to obtain in vitro antitumor effect fractions in our previous study [13,14]. As shown in Figure 1a, a time-dependent inhibition in the proliferation of HCT-116 cells was observed in relation to the infusion times of Cordyceps militaris in sweet potato shochu from 7 to 21 days.…”

“…In previous studies, its shochu was concentrated and passed through a synthetic adsorbent resin column. The bioactive fraction, eluted with 40% ethanol, was further separated by HPLC to fractionate the cordycepin [13,14]. However, the other active ingredient in the spirits remains unidentified, although the typic cordycepin is confirmed.…”