Immunological Effect of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) in Healthy Volunteers: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) intake on immune responses by investigating the number and function of circulating dendritic cells (DCs) in healthy volunteers. Twenty-one healthy volunteers were randomized to receive placebo or AHCC at 3.0 g/day for 4 wk. The number of circulating cluster of differentiation (CD)11c(+) DCs (DC1) and CD11c(-) DCs (DC2) were measured. Allogeneic mixed-leukocyte reaction (MLR) was performed. Natural killer (NK) cell activity and the proliferative response of T lymphocytes toward mitogen (phytohemagglutinin [PHA]) were measured. We also measured cytokine production stimulated by lipopolysaccharide [interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, interferon gamma-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha). The AHCC group (n = 10) after AHCC intake had a significantly higher number of total DCs compared to that at baseline and values from control subjects (n = 11). The number of DC1s in the AHCC group after intake was significantly higher than at baseline. DC2s in the AHCC group were significantly increased in comparison with controls. The MLR in the AHCC group was significantly increased compared to controls. No significant differences in PHA, NK cell activity, and cytokine production were found between groups. AHCC intake resulted in the increased number of DCs and function of DC1s, which have a role in specific immunity.

Long-term administration of Active Hexose Correlated Compound as a dietary supplement to a patient after breast cancer surgery and chemotherapy: A case report

“…Results showed an increase in the total dendritic cell count and myeloid dendritic cell count, as well as an increase in the mixed lymphocyte culture response [3].…”

Effect of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) in Alcohol-Induced Liver Enzyme Elevation

“…The safety of AHCC as a dietary supplement has been reported in several studies evaluating genotoxicity or acute and subchronic oral toxicity (14,25,26).…”

“…The active ingredients of AHCC are a-glucan, acetylated a-glucan, and b-glucan of polysaccharides (12). It has been suggested that AHCC has anti-oxidative (11), anti-inflammatory (12,13) and immunostimulatory effects (14,15) as well as hepatoprotective properties in vitro (16,17) and in vivo (12).…”

Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Glucan Polysaccharides – Occurrence, Separation and Application in Food, Feed and Health Industries

“…Hot-water extracts from Peziza vesiculosa show antitumor activity (Ohno et al, 1985;Suzuki et al, 1982) and extracts from Grifola frondosa (Maitake) show glucose suppression (Tanaka et al, 2011) and antidiabetic (Lei et al, 2007) activities. Extracts (Shida & Matsuda, 1974) from Lentinus edodes (Shiitake) stimulate the immune system (Shah et al, 2011;Terakawa et al, 2008) and possess antibacterial, antiviral (Mach et al, 2008) and anticancer properties (Shida & Matsuda, 1974;Hyodo et al, 2005;Shah et al, 2011). Extracts from Tricholoma matsutake (Matsutake) show antitumor (Ebina et al, 2002) and immunomodulatory (Hirotaka et al, 2007;Hirotaka et al, 2005) activities.…”