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Lentinan
Lentinan is a polysaccharide isolated from the fruit body of shiitake mushroom (''Lentinula edodes''). Chemistry Lentinan is a β-1,3 beta-glucan with β-1,6 branching. It has a molecular weight of 500,000 Da and specific rotation of +14-22° (NaOH). Research Preclinical studies An ''in vitro'' experiment showed lentinan stimulated production of white blood cells in the human cell line U937. Lentinan is thought to be inactive in humans when given orally and is therefore administered intravenously. The authors of an ''in vivo'' study of lentinan suggested that the compound may be active when administered orally in mice. Human clinical trials Lentinan has been the subject of a limited number of clinical studies in cancer patients in Japan; however, evidence of efficacy Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiitake Mushroom Dermatitis
Shiitake mushroom dermatitis is an intensely itchy dermatitis characterized by disseminated 1mm erythematous micropapules seen in a linear grouped arrangement secondary to Koebnerization due to patient scratching. It is caused by the ingestion of shiitake mushrooms and was first described in 1977 by Nakamura. Although it is rarely seen outside China and Japan due to a lower incidence of shiitake consumption outside these regions, there is a well-established association between flagellate dermatitis and shiitake mushroom (''Lentinula edodes'') ingestion. Bleomycin ingestion may also cause similar findings. On physical exam, one key difference between the two is that post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation changes are usually seen with bleomycin-induced flagellate dermatitis and are not typically present with shiitake mushroom induced flagellate dermatitis. The median time of onset from ingestion of shiitake mushrooms is typically 24 hours, ranging from 12 hours to 5 days. Most patien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiitake
The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe. Taxonomy The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1877. It was placed in the genus '' Lentinula'' by David Pegler in 1976. The fungus has acquired an extensive synonymy in its taxonomic history: *''Agaricus edodes'' Berk. (1878) *'' Armillaria edodes'' (Berk.) Sacc. (1887) *''Mastoleucomychelloes edodes'' (Berk.) Kuntze (1891) *''Cortinellus edodes'' (Berk.) S.Ito & S.Imai (1938) *'' Lentinus edodes'' (Berk.) Singer (1941) *'' Collybia shiitake'' J.Schröt. (1886) *'' Lepiota shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Nobuj. Tanaka (1889) *''Cortinellus shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Henn. (1899) *'' Tricholoma shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Lloyd (1918) *''Lentinus shiitake'' (J.Schröt.) Singer (1936) *''Lentinus tonkinensis'' Pat. (1890) *''Lentinus mellianus'' Lohwag (1918) The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polysaccharide
Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with water (hydrolysis) using amylase enzymes as catalyst, which produces constituent sugars (monosaccharides or oligosaccharides). They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure, these macromolecules can have distinct properties from their monosaccharide building blocks. They may be amorphous or even insoluble in water. When all the monosaccharides in a polysaccharide are the same type, the polysaccharide is called a homopolysaccharide or homoglycan, but when more t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fruit Body
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual spore production. The sporocarp of a basidiomycete is known as a ''basidiocarp'' or ''basidiome'', while the fruitbody of an ascomycete is known as an '' ascocarp''. Many shapes and morphologies are found in both basidiocarps and ascocarps; these features play an important role in the identification and taxonomy of fungi. Fruitbodies are termed ''epigeous'' if they grow on the ground, while those that grow underground are ''hypogeous''. Epigeous sporocarps that are visible to the naked eye, especially fruitbodies of a more or less agaricoid morphology, are often called mushrooms. Epigeous sporocarps have mycelia that extend underground far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta-glucan
Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides ( glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, with significantly differing physicochemical properties dependent on source. Typically, β-glucans form a linear backbone with 1–3 β- glycosidic bonds but vary with respect to molecular mass, solubility, viscosity, branching structure, and gelation properties, causing diverse physiological effects in animals. At dietary intake levels of at least 3 g per day, oat fiber β-glucan decreases blood levels of LDL cholesterol and so may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. β-glucans are natural gums and are used as texturing agents in various nutraceutical and cosmetic products, and as soluble fiber supplements. History Cereal and fungal products have been used for centuries for medicinal and cosmetic purposes; however, the specific role of β-glucan was not explored until the 20th century. β-glucans were first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and its subdisciplines are traditionally done in labware such as test tubes, flasks, Petri dishes, and microtiter plates. Studies conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological surroundings permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms; however, results obtained from ''in vitro'' experiments may not fully or accurately predict the effects on a whole organism. In contrast to ''in vitro'' experiments, ''in vivo'' studies are those conducted in living organisms, including humans, known as clinical trials, and whole plants. Definition ''In vitro'' (Latin language, Latin for "in glass"; often not italicized in English usage) studies are conducted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
U937 Cells
U-937 cells are a pro-monocytic model cell line used in biomedical research. They were isolated from the histiocytic lymphoma of a 37-year-old male patient in 1974. Due to the relative uniformity of expanded cultures and lower maintenance requirements these cells have been since used as an important tool for studying phagocyte differentiation and different kinds of cell-to-cell interactions. U-937 cells mature and differentiate in response to a number of soluble stimuli, adopting the morphology and characteristics of monocytes, macrophages or dendritic cells. U-937 cells are of myeloid lineage and thus secrete a large number of cytokines and chemokines either constitutively (e.g., IL-1 and GM-CSF) or in response to soluble stimuli. TNFα and recombinant GM-CSF for example independently promote IL-10 production in U937 cells. This cell line is therefore widely used for cytokine level read-outs as a result of exposure to various chemical compounds. Namely, production of IL-1β, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Vivo
Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and plants, as opposed to a tissue extract or dead organism. Examples of investigations ''in vivo'' include: the pathogenesis of disease by comparing the effects of bacterial infection with the effects of purified bacterial toxins; the development of non-antibiotics, antiviral drugs, and new drugs generally; and new surgical procedures. Consequently, animal testing and clinical trials are major elements of ''in vivo'' research. ''In vivo'' testing is often employed over ''in vitro'' because it is better suited for observing the overall effects of an experiment on a living subject. In drug discovery, for example, verification of efficacy ''in vivo'' is crucial, because ''in vitro'' assays can sometimes yield misleading results with drug c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Efficacy
Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made between efficacy and effectiveness. The word ''efficacy'' is used in pharmacology and medicine to refer both to the maximum response achievable from a pharmaceutical drug in research settings, and to the capacity for sufficient therapeutic effect or beneficial change in clinical settings. Pharmacology In pharmacology, efficacy () is the maximum response achievable from an applied or dosed agent, for instance, a small molecule drug. Intrinsic activity is a relative term for a drug's efficacy relative to a drug with the highest observed efficacy. It is a purely descriptive term that has little or no mechanistic interpretation. In order for a drug to have an effect, it needs to bind to its target, and then to affect the function of this tar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WebMD
WebMD is an American corporation which publishes online news and information about human health and well-being. The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular consumer-oriented health site. WebMD was started in 1998 by internet entrepreneur Jeff Arnold. In early 1999, it was part of a three-way merger with Sapient Health Network (SHN) and Direct Medical Knowledge (DMK). SHN began in Portland, Oregon, in 1996 by Jim Kean, Bill Kelly, and Kris Nybakken, who worked together at a CD-ROM publishing firm, Creative Multimedia. Later, in 1999, WebMD merged with Healtheon, founded by Netscape Communications founder James H. Clark. History WebMD is best known as a health information services website, which publishes content regarding health and health care topics, including a symptom checklist, pharmacy information, drugs information, and blogs of physicians with specific topics, and provides a place t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is located at 1275 York Avenue between 67th and 68th Streets in Manhattan. It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the ''Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases'', founded in 1884, and the adjacent ''Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research'', founded in 1945. The two medical entities had formally coordinated their operations since 1960. History Early history of Memorial Hospital (1884–1934) The hospital was founded in its original building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1884 as ''New York Cancer Hospital'' by a group that included John Jacob Astor III and his wife Charlotte. The hospital appointed as an attending surgeon William B. Coley, who pioneered an early form of immunotherapy to erad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medicinal Mushrooms
Medicinal fungi are fungi that contain metabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites through biotechnology to develop prescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include those treating infection with amoeba, bacteria, fungicide, fungus, virus, inhibitors of cholesterol and ergosterol synthesis, and psychotropics. Mushroom dietary supplements, commonly made from powdered or extracted fruiting bodies or mycelium, are marketed for various health benefits but lack sufficient scientific evidence for safety or effectiveness, and quality can vary due to inconsistent processing and labeling. History In Ancient Egypt Bread in culture#In medicine, moldy bread was applied to wound infection. ''Inonotus obliquus'' was used in folk medicine tumor treatment in Russia and Northern Europe during the 16th century. Hallucinogenic mushrooms include ''Amanita muscaria'', the fly agaric and Psilocybin mushroom, "magic mushrooms", which contain psilocyb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
