Anti-cancer effect of polysaccharides isolated from higher basidiomycetes mushrooms

Anti-tumor activity of mushroom fruit bodies and mycelial extracts evaluated using different cancer cell lines. These polysaccharide extracts showed potent antitumor activity against sarcoma 180, mammary adenocarcinoma 755, leukemia L-1210 and a host of other tumors. The antitumor activity was mainly due to indirect host mediated immunotherapeutic effect. These studies are still in progress in many laboratories and the role of the polysaccharides as immunopotentiators is especially under intense debate. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the available information in this area and to indicate the present status of the research. Key words: Mushroom, polysaccharide, antitumor, lentinan, schizophyllan, maitake, apoptosis, and metastasis. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 672-678, December 200

Bioremediation of textile effluent using Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Enormous volumes of effluent are generated at different stages of textile manufacturing, as a result of the use of copious amounts of chemicals and dyes. Several tons of textiles required to meet up with societal demands are produced daily in this industry. Effluent derived from the textile and dyestuffactivities can provoke serious environmental impact in the neighboring receptor water bodies because of the presence of toxic reactive dyes, chlorolignin residues and dark coloration. Nature has demonstrated its capacity to disperse, degrade, absorb or otherwise dispose of unwanted residues in the natural sinks of the atmosphere, waterways, ocean and soil. It is realized however that this ability is not finite. The discharge of these waste residues into the environment eventually poison, damage oraffect one or more species in the environment, with resultant changes in the ecological balance. The biological breakdown of the chlorolignin residues and the chromophoric groups responsible for the dark coloration of the textile effluent can be accomplished by the use of enzymes from the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. The siderophores detected from the culture of the organism have been found useful in the decolourization and remediation of the effluent. This review summarizes the available information in the use of this fungus for bioremediation purposes and also assesses the current status of the technology

Mapping geographical inequalities in oral rehydration therapy coverage in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000-17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2 center dot 5th and 97 center dot 5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62 center dot 6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000-7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910-68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers' understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage. Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Exopolysaccharide-peptide complex from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) protects against hepatotoxicity in rats

© 2020 Liver damage involves oxidative stress and a progression from chronic hepatitis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The increased incidence of liver disease in Egypt and other countries in the last decade, coupled with poor prognosis, justify the critical need to introduce alternative chemopreventive agents that may protect against liver damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of exopolysaccharide-peptide (PSP) complex extracted from Pleurotus ostreatus as a hepatoprotective agent against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)/carbon tetrachloride (CCL4)-induced hepatocellular damage in rats. The levels of liver injury markers (ALT, AST and ALP) were substantially increased following DEN/CCl4 treatment. DEN/CCl4 - induced oxidative stress was confirmed by elevated levels of lipid peroxidation and decreased levels of superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, and reduced glutathione. PSP reversed these alterations in the liver and serum, and provided protection evidenced by reversal of histopathological changes in the liver. The present study demonstrated that PSP extract from P. ostreatus exhibited hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects against DEN/CCl4-induced hepatocellular damage in rats. Given the high prevalence of HCV-related liver damage in Egypt, our results suggest further clinical evaluation of P. ostreatus extracts and their potential hepatoprotective effects in patients with liver disease

Medicinal Properties of Mediterranean Oyster Mushrooms: Species of Genus Pleurotus (Higher Basidiomycetes)

The term \u201cMediterranean area,\u201d applied in this chapter, refers to the definition reported in Med-Checklist and particularly to all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea plus Portugal, Bulgaria, the Crimea (Ukraine), and Jordan. The \u201cMediterranean oyster mushrooms\u201d is a geographically and ecologically well-defined group of Basidiomycetes. The medicinal properties of some widely investigated species such as Pleurotus ostreatus and P. eryngii are recognized worldwide, while in the case of some other Mediterranean Pleurotus taxa, there is still a lack of knowledge. A substantial increase in knowledge about the anticancer and antibacterial properties of the group of Pleurotus species growing as saprophytes on dead roots of plants of family Apiaceae (P. nebrodensis, P. eryngii var. elaeoselini, P. eryngii var. ferulae in particular) has been recorded in recent years, thanks to research carried out at the University of Palermo (Italy). This chapter summarizes the latest research on medicinal oyster mushrooms growing in the Mediterranean environment