Effect of an Extract Based on the Medicinal Mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill on Expression of Cytokines and Calprotectin in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease

Abstract

An immunomodulatory extract (AndoSan™) based on the medicinal mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill (AbM) has shown to reduce blood cytokine levels in healthy volunteers after 12 days’ ingestion, pointing to an anti‐inflammatory effect. The aim was to study whether AndoSan™ had similar effects on cytokines in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). Calprotectin, a marker for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), was also measured. Patients with CD (n = 11) and with UC (n = 10) consumed 60 ml/day of AndoSan™. Patient blood plasma was harvested before and after 6 h LPS (1 ng/ml) stimulation ex vivo. Plasma and faecal calprotectin levels were analysed using ELISA and 17 cytokines [IL‐2, IFN‐γ, IL‐12 (Th1), IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐13 (Th2), IL‐7, IL‐17, IL‐1β, IL‐6, TNF‐α, IL‐8, MIP‐1β, MCP‐1, G‐CSF, GM‐CSF and IL‐10] by multiplex assay. After 12 days’ ingestion of AndoSan™, baseline plasma cytokine levels in UC was reduced for MCP‐1 (40%) and in LPS‐stimulated blood for MIP‐1β (78%), IL‐6 (44%), IL‐1β (41%), IL‐8 (30%), G‐CSF (29%), MCP‐1 (18%) and GM‐CSF (17%). There were corresponding reductions in CD: IL‐2 (100%), IL‐17 (55%) and IL‐8 (29%) and for IL‐1β (35%), MIP‐1β (30%), MCP‐1 (22%), IL‐8 (18%), IL‐17 (17%) and G‐CSF (14%), respectively. Baseline concentrations for the 17 cytokines in the UC and CD patient groups were largely similar. Faecal calprotectin was reduced in the UC group. Ingestion of an AbM‐based medicinal mushroom by patients with IBD resulted in interesting anti‐inflammatory effects as demonstrated by declined levels of pathogenic cytokines in blood and calprotectin in faeces.

Effect of AndoSan™on expression of adhesion molecules and production of reactive oxygen species in human monocytes and granulocytesin vivo

“…Together with the reported [17,33] in vivo reduction in levels of mainly proinflammatory cytokines in an identical experimental setup, our results indicate a stabilizing and anti-inflammatory effect of AndoSan Ô in vivo.…”

“…The level of fecal calprotectin for patients with ulcerative colitis was reduced significantly, but not for Crohn's disease [33].…”

An insight into anti-inflammatory effects of fungal beta-glucans

“…Consumption of an A. blazei Murill-based medicinal mushroom extract for 12 days by patients with inflammatory bowel disease resulted in no side-effects and a decline of especially pro-inflammatory and chemotactic cytokines as well as a reduction in faecal calprotectin in patients with ulcerative colitis. These promising results warrant further studies on additional biological parameters and potential improvement of clinical outcomes in these patients (Førland et al, 2011).…”

Andosan?-An Anti-Allergic and Anti-Inflammatory Ingredient Prepared from Agaricus blazei Mushroom

“…Figure 7: Scatter plots with median and individual levels (pg/ml) of different cytokines in unstimulated (open circles) or LPS stimulated (1 ng/ml) whole blood (closed circles) ex vivo from 11 patients patients with CD prior to (day 0) and after Andosan™ consumption for 12 days [68].…”

“…Based on the anti-inflammatory findings in healthy volunteers, patients with IBD; Ulcerous colitis and Crohn's disease, were then treated with Andosan in a pilot study at Oslo University Hospital, Departments of Gastroenterologial Surgery and Medicine [68]. After 12 days of Andosan ingestion there was a significant decline in LPSstimulated blood samples ex vivo of pro-inflammatory cytokines MIP-1β, MCP-1, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-1β and growth factors (Figure 6 and 7).…”