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In vivo growth-inhibition of Sarcoma 180 by an α-(1 → 4)-glucan–β-(1 → 6)-glucan-protein complex polysaccharide obtained from Agaricus blazei Murill

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Abstract

Agaricus blazei Murrill, a native mushroom of Brazil, has been widely consumed in different parts of the world due to its anticancer potential. This effect is generally attributed to its polysaccharides; however, the precise structure of these has not been fully characterized. To better understand the relationship between polysaccharide structures and antitumor activity, we investigated the effect of the intraperitoneally (i.p.) or orally (p.o.) administered α-(1 → 4)-glucan–β-(1 → 6)-glucan-protein complex polysaccharide from A. blazei alone or in association with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumor growth using Sarcoma 180 transplanted mice. Hematological, biochemical, and histopathological analyses were performed in order to evaluate the toxicological aspects of the polysaccharide treatment. The polysaccharide had no direct cytotoxic action on tumor cells in vitro. However, the polysaccharide showed strong in vivo antitumor effect. Thus, the tumor growth-inhibitory effect of the polysaccharide is apparently due to host-mediated mechanisms. The histopathological analysis suggests that the liver and the kidney were not affected by polysaccharide treatment. Neither enzymatic activity of transaminases (AST and ALT) nor urea levels were significantly altered. In hematological analysis, leucopeny was observed after 5-FU treatment, but this effect was prevented when the treatment was associated with the polysaccharide. In conclusion, this polysaccharide probably could explain the ethnopharmacological use of this mushroom in the treatment of cancer.

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Abbreviations

5-FU:

5-Fluorouracil

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

COBEA:

Colégio Brasileiro de Experimentação Animal, Brazil

FTIR:

Fourier transform infra red

i.p.:

Intraperitoneal route

MTT:

3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance

NK:

Natural killer

p.o.:

Oral route

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Acknowledgments

We thank CNPq, Instituto Claude Bernard, FUNCAP, Banco do Nordeste and FINEP for the financial support in the form of grants and fellowship awards. The authors also thank the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD, USA) for the donation of the tumor cell lines used in this study. The authors thank Silvana França dos Santos, Luciana França, and Maria de Fátima Teixeira for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, UFC, Rua Cel. Nunes de Melo, 1127, P.O. Box 3157, Fortaleza, Ceará, 60430-270, Brazil

    Daniel Pereira Bezerra, Nylane Maria Nunes de Alencar, Rodney de Oliveira Mesquita, Michael Will Lima, Cláudia Pessoa, Manoel Odorico de Moraes & Letícia Veras Costa-Lotufo

  2. Department of Clinical Odontology, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    Ana Paula Negreiros Nunes Alves

  3. Department of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Federal University of Ceará, P.O. Box 12200, Fortaleza, Ceará, 60455-760, Brazil

    Maria Leônia Costa Gonzaga & Sandra de Aguiar Soares

Authors
  1. Maria Leônia Costa Gonzaga
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  2. Daniel Pereira Bezerra
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  3. Ana Paula Negreiros Nunes Alves
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  4. Nylane Maria Nunes de Alencar
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  6. Michael Will Lima
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  8. Cláudia Pessoa
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  9. Manoel Odorico de Moraes
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  10. Letícia Veras Costa-Lotufo
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Correspondence to Letícia Veras Costa-Lotufo.

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Gonzaga, M.L.C., Bezerra, D.P., Alves, A.P.N.N. et al. In vivo growth-inhibition of Sarcoma 180 by an α-(1 → 4)-glucan–β-(1 → 6)-glucan-protein complex polysaccharide obtained from Agaricus blazei Murill. J Nat Med 63, 32–40 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-008-0286-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-008-0286-4

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