Hepatoprotective Effects of Mushrooms

• Main Authors: Rosane Marina Peralta, Cristina Giatti Marques de Souza, Eloá Angélica Koehnlein, Sandra Maria Gomes da Costa, Adelar Bracht, Anacharis Babeto de Sá-Nakanishi, Andréia Assunço Soares
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2013-07-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: anthraquinol; anti-oxidant activity; ganoderenic acid; b-glucan; metabolism; natural products; oxidative stress
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/18/7/7609

The particular characteristics of growth and development of mushrooms in nature result in the accumulation of a variety of secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds, terpenes and steroids and essential cell wall components such as polysaccharides, b-glucans and proteins, several of them with biological activities. The present article outlines and discusses the available information about the protective effects of mushroom extracts against liver damage induced by exogenous compounds. Among mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum is indubitably the most widely studied species. In this review, however, emphasis was given to studies using other mushrooms, especially those presenting efforts of attributing hepatoprotective activities to specific chemical components usually present in the mushroom extracts.