Although medicinal mushroom extracts have been proposed as promising anti-cancer agents, their precise impacts on metastatic breast cancer are still to be clarified. For this purpose, the present study exploited the effect of a novel medicinal mushroom blend, namely Micotherapy U-care, in a 4T1 triple-negative mouse breast cancer model. Mice were orally administered with Micotherapy U-care, consisting of a mixture of Agaricus blazei, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola frondosa, and Lentinula edodes. The syngeneic tumor-bearing mice were generated by injecting 4T1 cells in both supplemented and non-supplemented mice. After sacrifice 35 days later, specific endpoints and pathological outcomes of the murine pulmonary tissue were evaluated. (i) Histopathological and ultrastructural analysis and (ii) immunohistochemical assessment of TGF-ß1, IL-6 and NOS2, COX2, SOD1 as markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were performed. The QoL was comparatively evaluated. Micotherapy U-care supplementation, starting before 4T1 injection and lasting until the end of the experiment, dramatically reduced the pulmonary metastases density, also triggering a decrease of fibrotic response, and reducing IL-6, NOS, and COX2 expression. SOD1 and TGF-ß1 results were also discussed. These findings support the valuable potential of Micotherapy U-care as adjuvant therapy in the critical management of triple-negative breast cancer.

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic ascomycete, known primarily for infecting lepidopteran larval (caterpillars) and pupal hosts. Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by this fungus has anti-inflammatory properties and other pharmacological activities. However, little is known about the biological role of this adenosine derivate and its stabilising compound pentostatin in the context of insect infection the life cycle of C. militaris. During repeated subcultivation under laboratory conditions a degeneration of C. militaris marked by decreasing levels of cordycepin production can occur. Here, using degenerated and parental control strains of an isolate of C. militaris, we found that lower cordycepin production coincides with the decline in the production of various other metabolites as well as the reduced expression of genes related to sexual development. Additionally, infection of Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) caterpillars indicated that cordycepin inhibits the immune response in host haemocytes. Accordingly, the pathogenic response to the degenerated strain was reduced. These data indicate that there are simultaneous changes in sexual reproduction, secondary metabolite production, insect immunity and infection by C. militaris. This study may have implications for biological control of insect crop pests by fungi.

The present study aimed to examine the biological activity and cardioprotective potential of Trametes versicolor heteropolysaccharides (TVH) in a rat model of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study included 40 Wistar rats divided into 5 groups: CTRL—healthy non-treated rats; MetS—non-treated rats; and H-TV, M-TV and L-TV-rats with MetS treated with either 300, 200 or 100 mg/kg TVH per os for 4 weeks. After finishing the treatment, we conducted an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), hemodynamic measurements and the animals were sacrificed, hearts isolated and subjected to the Langendorff technique. Blood samples were used for the determination of oxidative stress parameters, lipid status and insulin levels. We showed that α-amylase inhibition was not the mode of TVH antidiabetic action, while TVH showed a moderate inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms’ growth (MIC 8.00 mg·mL⁻¹; MBC/MFC 16.00 mg·mL⁻¹). H-TV and M-TV significantly reduced the level of prooxidants (O₂⁻, H₂O₂, TBARS; p < 0.05), increased antioxidants activity (SOD, CAT, GSH; p < 0.05), reduced blood pressure (p < 0.05), improved glucose homeostasis in the OGTT test (p < 0.05), and ejection fraction (p < 0.05) and cardiac contractility (p < 0.05) compared to MetS (p < 0.05). Moreover, TVH treatment normalized the lipid status and decreased insulin levels compared to MetS rats (p < 0.05). The obtained results demonstrated that the TVH may be considered a useful agent for cardioprotection in MetS conditions.

This is a first report on C. militaris mycelia and fruiting bodies cultivation on solid-state containing spent brewery grains (SBG). Five different strains of C. militaris were cultivated on substrates containing rye grains and 0 to 60% SBG. Stromata formation on SBG-containing substrates was noticed with two C. militaris strains. All strains failed to grow on substrates containing SBG amounts higher than 50%. Highest (10.42 mg/g) cordycepin concentration in cultivating substrate was determined with strain CM2 on 50% SBG. One gram of CM11 strain fungal biomass was able to produce 787.11 mg/g of cordycepin. SBG as a byproduct represent a readily available, low price substrate for cordycepin solid-state production. Obtained concentrations of cordycepin are so far the highest reported concentrations obtained on solid-state substrates therefore we can talk about cordycepin hyperproduction.

A simple and robust two-dimensional chromatographic fractionation protocol for the isolation of the neuroprotective compound erinacine A from Hericium erinaceus is proposed. This production platform yielded 19.4 mg of erinacine A from approximately 130 g of mushroom material, with a chromatographic purity of 97.4%. The procedure includes extraction, concentration, fractionation, purification, and characterisation of the bioactive compound. The crude H. erinaceus extract was fractionated in the first dimension by normal-phase flash chromatography, and the fraction containing erinacine A was further purified in the second dimension by semi-preparative reversed-phase chromatography. This strategy utilises the orthogonality of the two chromatographic modes to effectively eliminate difficult impurities, including structural isomers and analogues of erinacine A. Complementary analytical approaches such as high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and tandem mass spectrometric detection (HPLC–UV–MS/MS) were employed to unambiguously confirm erinacine A in the isolated fractions, while HPLC with a charged aerosol detector (CAD) was used to determine its purity. Given the limited commercial availability and the high price of erinacine A, the described method offers a straightforward and cost-effective alternative to obtain this valuable compound for further research and applications.