Anti-cancer Mushroom Bioatives to Augment Cancer Therapy

Download or read book Anti-cancer Mushroom Bioatives to Augment Cancer Therapy written by Zoe Richardson and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is great scientific and public interest in the biological potential of functional foods and nutraceuticals in the treatment of disease. Mushrooms have been used in traditional medicines for millennia in the treatment of a wide range of diseases including gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, cardiac dysfunction and cancer. The incredible structural diversity of mushroom-derived complex polysaccharides and proteins indicates they may hold great pharmacological potential as anti-cancer bioactives. The aging of Western populations has led to an increase in the cancer burden, and yet effective and tolerable treatments still remain elusive. Prostate and breast cancer are the most frequently diagnosed cancers in men and women, respectively, and while there are effective treatments, there is significant room for improvement. This project screened crude hot water, and NaOH and water soluble mushroom extracts for cytotoxic and anti- proliferative effects against the two hormone sensitive breast and prostate cancer cell lines MCF-7 and LNCaP. Mushroom extracts were also screened for activity in augmenting the chemotherapeutic effects of paclitaxel, doxorubicin, tamoxifen and bicalutamide. A number of mushroom extracts were identified as having significant activity in directly inhibiting tumour cell proliferation/viability or augmenting the activities of the chemotherapeutic agents. Mushroom extracts that were observed to be effective were then fractionated into their respective carbohydrate and protein fractions to be tested separately. It was found that the effects of the carbohydrate and protein fractions were not as effective as the whole extract, suggesting both fractions contribute to the activity of the whole extract. A selection of the mushrooms have been highlighted for further investigation into their potential as agents to combat breast and prostate cancers.