View full article | Antioxidant, Immunomodulatory, and Anticancer Potential of Cultivated Edible Mushroom Pleurotus florida
ABSTRACT
Mushrooms are fungi; some of them have been used as food by humans for millennia. Edible mushrooms are recognized as a source of antioxidants and as a potential chemotherapy treatment for cancer. The present study was designed to investigate the antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anticancer properties of aqueous extracts of the edible mushroom Pleurotus florida. In vivo immunomodulatory activity was determined in male Balb/c mice following a Cyclophosphamide-induced challenge (10 mg/kg). Anticancer potential of P florida extracts was evaluated using the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cell line. Positive modulation of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase was observed in the P florida treated group compared with the control group. Pleurotus florida (500 mg/kg) significantly increased white blood cell counts. In addition the tumor-reducing effect of the extract at a higher dose (1000 mg/kg) approached that of Cisplatin (4 mg/kg). Following histopathology, mice treated with a combination of P florida and cyclophosphamide developed no ductal adenoma in liver samples whereas in the cyclophosphamide only group, ductal carcinomas were evident. Further studies of the isolated active principle from P florida are warranted, to explore the full mechanisms of anticancer activity.
Authors: 1Vivekanandan Kalaiselvan, M. Pharm, Ph. D., 2Ahmed Sultana, M. Pharm., 2Muthusamy Kalaivani, M. Pharm, 2Santhanam Prasath, M. Pharm., 2Aiyalu Rajasekaran, M. Pharm, Ph.D
1Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Sector 23, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP-201002, India
2 Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) – College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore 35, Tamilnadu, India
Correspondence to:
Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, M. Pharm, Ph.D
Senior Scientific Officer
Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission
Sector 23, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP-201002
India
Email: vivekarts@rediffmail.com
KEYWORDS:
Pleurotus florida, Immunomodulation, Antioxidant, Anticancer, Mushroom