8 May 2020, Published on The Science of the total environment (IF 6.551) ©Elservier B.V.
In this paper, it is reported the first study of the potential mechanism of β-glucan extracted from edible shiitake mushroom on reducing the pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. By using the in vitro models of lung injury and macrophage phagocytosis, it investigated two different lentinan extracts whose β-glucan contents varied.
The study used transformed human cells (airway epithelial) to investigate their anti-inflammatory effects. The IL-1β pulmonary model used in this experiment is closely related to the cytokine storm response which is considered an injury mechanism of Covid-19. However, the lentinan extracts containing higher amount of β-glucan showed a more significant effect, which implied β-glucan is the key to take effect. The in-vitro result suggested that this β-glucan extract could be a potential treatment for lung injury. Besides, to investigate its potential ability to alleviate oxidative stress, THP-1 cells were treated with H2O2 prior to β-glucan treatment. It was also found that the β-glucan is capable of reducing cell apoptosis which will later turn to necrosis.
The author of this paper concluded that β-glucan can be delivered in the form of pharmaceuticals to treat Covid-19 patients as well as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in sepsis. The author also mentioned that Lentinus Edodes (Shiitake mushroom) have a potential application to address Covid-19 because of its immune therapeutic functionality.
Murphy, Emma J et al., 2020. β-Glucan extracts from the same edible shiitake mushroom Lentinus edodes produce differential in-vitro immunomodulatory and pulmonary cytoprotective effects — Implications for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) immunotherapies. The Science of the total environment, 732, p.139330.
