Anti-Proliferative Effects - A compound known as Lectin (LFL) was extracted from Lactarius flavidulus fruit bodies.

The activity was potently inhibited by Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions, and slightly inhibited by Al³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions. LFL suppressed the proliferation of hepatoma (HepG2) and leukemic (L1210) cells with an IC₅₀ of 8.90 and 6.81 μM, respectively.

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A 14.6-kDa RNase, with a pH optimum of 5.5 and a temperature optimum of 70 °C, was isolated from dried fruiting bodies of the edible mushroom Lactarius flavidulus.

It suppressed proliferation of HepG2 cells and L1210 cells with an IC₅₀ of 3.19 μM and 6.52 μM, respectively. It also inhibited the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase with an IC₅₀ of 2.55 μM.

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Anti-Inflammatory - The reported medicinal effects of mushrooms include anti-inflammatory effects, with anti-inflammatory compounds of mushrooms comprising a highly diversified group in terms of their chemical structure.

The aims of this review are to report the different types of bioactive metabolites and their relevant producers, as well as the different mechanisms of action of mushroom compounds as potent anti-inflammatory agents.

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Anti-Cancer - The chief medicinal uses of mushrooms discovered so far are as anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, hypocholesterolemic, anti-tumor, anti-cancer, immunomodulatory, anti-allergic, nephroprotective, and anti-microbial agents.

The mushrooms credited with success against cancer belong to the genus Phellinus, Pleurotus, Agaricus, Ganoderma, Clitocybe, Antrodia, Trametes, Cordyceps, Xerocomus, Calvatia, Schizophyllum, Flammulina, Suillus, Inonotus, Inocybe, Funlia, Lactarius, Albatrellus, Russula, and Fomes.

The anti-cancer compounds play crucial role as reactive oxygen species inducer, mitotic kinase inhibitor, anti-mitotic, angiogenesis inhibitor, topoisomerase inhibitor, leading to apoptosis, and eventually checking cancer proliferation.

The mounting evidences from various research groups across the globe, regarding anti-tumor application of mushroom extracts unarguably make it a fast-track research area worth mass attention.

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Proteins with antiproliferative activity toward cancer cells in vitro and/or anticancer activity in vivo are discussed in this review.

The fungal immunomodulatory proteins encompass those from Flammulina velutipes, Ganoderma lucidum, and G. tsugae. These compounds display antiproliferative activity.

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Lectins are proteins/glycoproteins of non-immune origin, which are widely distributed in nature.

Various applications of lectins have been described, for example as tools to identify aberrant glycans expressed by neoplastic cells and as antitumor agents by inducing apoptosis by various mechanisms. In order to widen applications of anti-tumor lectins, a detailed investigation of their action mechanism is required. Mushrooms are a valuable source of novel lectins with unique specificities and potentials for biotechnological and biomedical applications.

The possible role of lectins as cancer therapeutics is discussed together with the mechanisms underlying the anti-proliferative activity, which may help to exploit these biomolecules as potential novel antitumor drugs in near future.

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Antimicrobial Activity - Lactarius Flavidulus, was evaluated, Immature and mature samples were analyzed for proximate constituents (moisture, fat, crude protein, ash, carbohydrates), nutritional value, and individual composition in fatty acids and sugars.

The antimicrobial activity of the mushrooms was screened against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and fungi, and correlated to the amounts of phenols, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, β-carotene, and lycopene present in the immature and mature fruiting bodies. Mature fruiting bodies with mature spores presented lower antimicrobial activity, which was in agreement with the bioactive compound content found in those samples.

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Anti-Tumor - The present review updates the recent findings on the pharmacologically active compounds, their anti-tumor potential, and underlying mechanism of biological action in order to raise awareness for further investigations to develop cancer therapeutics from mushrooms. The mounting evidences from various research groups across the globe, regarding anti-tumor application of mushroom extracts unarguably make it a fast-track research area worth mass attention.

Medicinal mushrooms represent a growing segment of today’s pharmaceutical industry owing to the plethora of useful bioactive compounds. While they have a long history of use across diverse cultures, they are backed up by reasonable scientific investigation now.

These findings are important due to the lack of chemotherapeutic agents of some forms of malignant cancer, viz. estrogen receptor negative human breast cancer, mesothelioma, acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, hopeless astrocytoma, etc.

The present results and data might provide new insights into the possible therapeutic uses of mushrooms and helpful suggestions for the design of anti-tumor drugs from mushrooms in combating cancer.

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