In Vitro and In Vivo Antitumoral Activity of Exobiopolymers from the Royal Sun Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom Agaricus brasiliensis (Agaricomycetes)

Abstract

We studied antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo and partial chemical characterization of exobiopolymers (EBPs) of Agaricus brasiliensis produced by submerged cultivation. The EBPs comprised 61.2% total sugar and 22.3% total protein, and the chromatographic profile mainly identified mannose (65.5%), galactose (17.5%), and glucose (13.1%). In vitro analysis revealed a dose with antitumor effectiveness, time-dependent treatment, and 46% inhibition of solid Walker 256 tumors in rats. Metabolic changes were significant in the spleens of the animals; this is possibly related to higher immune activity triggered by the presence of EBPs in the treated group. The increase of nitric oxide production by peritoneal macrophages from animals may be related to the tumor reduction observed, because nitric oxide acts as an important effector pathway in the defense of the organism.

Antitumor, Anti-inflammatory and Antiallergic Effects of Agaricus blazei Mushroom Extract and the Related Medicinal Basidiomycetes Mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus and Grifola frondosa: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies

“…The mechanism was immunomodulatory, as shown by increased IL-12 levels, and the growth inhibition of tumor cells by the induction of apoptosis. Recently, Sovrani et al [53] reported that AbM exobiopolymers inhibited solid Walker 256 tumors in rats due to increased nitric oxide (NO -) production by peritoneal MΦ.…”

“…In summary, the mechanisms for the AbM-induced antitumor effects in rodent models were the following: inhibition of tumor neovascularization [35,36,47,49], antimutagenesis [37], modulation of metalloproteinase and a metastatic suppressor [48], Th1 immune cell migration to tumor [45], apoptosis [7,16,49,52], and increased NOproduction by MΦ [53].…”