Chemical, biochemical, preclinical and clinical studies of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide as an approved drug for treating myopathy and other diseases in China

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum is an edible medicinal mushroom known as “Lingzhi” in China and “Reishi or Manetake” in Japan. It is a highly prized vitality‐enhancing herb for more than 2000 years. G. lucidum polysaccharide (GLPS) has been identified as one of the major bioactive components and developed into a drug named “Ji 731 Injection” in China since 1973. The large‐scale production of the drug began in 1985 and approved by the Chinese FDA as “Polysaccharidum of G. lucidum Karst Injection” (Ling Bao Duo Tang Zhu She Ye) in 2000, which is applied intramuscularly. After more than forty years of clinical use, its efficacy, safety and long‐term tolerability have been recognized by neurologists. It is one of a few non‐hormonal drugs used for treating refractory myopathy. It is also used for combination therapy, which reduces the amount of glucocorticoid required for myopathy patient who is in remission. In addition, it reduces adverse reactions and improves the quality of life for cancer patients during chemotherapy. We found 81 qualified chemical, biochemical, preclinical and clinical studies of GLPS both in English and in Chinese spanning from 1973 to 2017 by searching CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang database and PubMed. The molecular mechanisms underlying GLPS's antioxidant, anti‐tumour, immune‐modulatory, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and other activities are discussed. Both preclinical and clinical studies are either deliberated or indexed in the current article. We aimed at providing a molecular picture as well as a clinical basis to comprehend GLPS as one of few polysaccharide‐based modern medicines with complicated chemical and pharmacological properties that prevent it from entering the world's market.

Autophagic flux disruption contributes to Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide-induced apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells via MAPK/ERK activation

“…Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a medicinal mushroom that has been used in East Asian countries for over 2000 years [3][4][5] . A substantial number of preclinical and clinical studies have reported that G. lucidum has numerous pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, hypoglycemic, immune-regulatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancerous [5][6][7][8][9][10] . Many studies have demonstrated that GLP is one of the main bioactive components responsible for anti-cancer effects of G. lucidum 3,5 .…”

The structures and biological functions of polysaccharides from traditional Chinese herbs

“…The relatively inexpensive polysaccharides from the traditional Chinese herbs should be useable for the development of novel therapeutic agents, functional food, or adjuvants for preventing or treating different pathological conditions as those fungal polysaccharide-based drugs approved and used in China. 6,[121][122][123][124][125][126]…”

Unusual constituents from the medicinal mushroomGanoderma lingzhi

“…Colourless needles; m.p. 157.9-160.4 C; [a] 23 D +6.44 (c 0.06, MeOH); UV (MeOH) l max (log 3): 241.60 (3.23); 1 H NMR data (Table 1); 13 C NMR data ( (10) , g ¼ 90 , V ¼ 726.04(5)Å 3 , T ¼ 100(2) K, space group P2 1 , Z ¼ 2, m(CuKa) ¼ 0.736 mm À1 , 7540 reections measured, 2510 independent reections (R int ¼ 0.0263). The nal R 1 values were 0.0327 (I > 2s(I)).…”

“…8 All these efforts have illuminated and enriched the chemical prole of Ganoderma secondary metabolites, which has made it possible for Ganoderma to be developed as a regular drug rather than as a dietary supplement. 9,10 Sesquiterpenoids are the most abundant type of secondary metabolites in mushrooms. 11 However, in contrast to the attention that has been paid on the triterpenes, research on sesquiterpenes from Ganoderma fruiting bodies is still unfolding.…”