Lentinan is a
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 wa ...
isolated from the
fruit body
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
of
shiitake
The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...
mushroom (''Lentinula edodes''
mycelium
Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrate (biology), substrates. A typical single ...
).
Chemistry
Lentinan is a β-1,3
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, Π...
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
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
'' 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
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 ...
'' 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 pragmatic clinical trial#Efficacy versu ...
is lacking.
Adverse effects
Lentinan has been reported to cause
shiitake mushroom dermatitis
Shiitake mushroom dermatitis is an intensely pruritic 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 ingesti ...
.
See also
*
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 antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, ...
References
External links
Lentinaneffects (antitumor and others)
*Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's page fo
Lentinan
{{Carbohydrates
Immunostimulants
Polysaccharides