Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a class of natural drugs with multiple components and significant therapeutic effects through multiple targets. It also originates from a wide range of sources containing plants, animals and minerals, and among them, plant-based Chinese medicine also includes fungi. Fungal traditional Chinese medicine is a medicinal resource with a long history and widespread application in China. Accumulating evidence confirms that polysaccharide is the main pharmacodynamic material on which fungal TCM is based. The purpose of the current systematic review is to summarize the extraction, isolation, structural identification, biological functions, quality control and medicinal and edible applications of polysaccharides from fungal TCM in the past three years. This paper will supplement and deepen the understanding and application of polysaccharides from fungal TCM, and propose some valuable insights for further research and development of drugs and functional foods.

Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by chronic glycolipid metabolic dysregulation. This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of Artemisia integrifolia Linn. (LH) as a functional food in a T2DM rat model. The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique was used to identify the components of LH. T2DM was induced in rats via a high-fat/high-sugar diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg/kg, i.p.). The rats were subsequently treated with LH (90 mg/kg, 180 mg/kg) for 15 days. A total of 66 compounds were identified in both positive and negative ions. LH treatment resulted in an increase in body weight while reducing FBG levels. It also improved insulin resistance, blood lipid levels, liver pathology, function, and lipid accumulation. Furthermore, 18 metabolites and 5 metabolic pathways were identified in the liver. Mechanistically, LH may improve T2DM through modulation of the S1P and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Caffeic acid, coumarin, trifolin, and apigetrin were identified as the likely active components. In conclusion, LH may mitigate glycolipid metabolism disorders in T2DM rats by modulating metabolic profiling, S1P, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, supporting its potential as a functional food.

Stir-frying can alter the chemical composition and biological functionality of Raphani Semen (RS), but whether this processing improves its glucose-regulating properties remains unclear. In this study, a representative laboratory-scale stir-frying condition (160 °C for 3 min) was selected through exploratory chromatographic, macroscopic, and organoleptic assessment. Raw RS and stir-fried Raphani Semen (SF-RS) were subsequently compared using chemical and serum-exposure profiling, metabolic phenotyping, liver histopathology, hepatic proteomics and metabolomics, gut microbiota analysis, and targeted molecular validation in a diet/streptozotocin-induced mouse model of type 2 diabetes. Stir-frying altered relative LC-MS chemical response patterns and serum-detectable feature profiles, with selected glucosinolate-related signals showing the most consistent processing-associated differences. Functionally, SF-RS produced significantly greater reductions in terminal fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR than raw RS at all three matched doses (p < 0.05), while its advantage in OGTT AUC was particularly evident at the low dose. SF-RS also enhanced hepatic PAS-positive glycogen restoration across the tested dose range and improved lipid accumulation and collagen deposition at selected doses. Multi-omics analyses indicated processing-dependent regulation of PI3K–Akt/FoxO, PPAR, lipid, and cofactor metabolic pathways, together with distinct remodeling of the gut microbial community. Targeted validation further showed stronger regulation of PI3K-Akt signaling, Forkhead Box O1 (FoxO1) nuclear accumulation, and PPAR-α/CPT1A/ACOX1-associated fatty-acid metabolism after stir-frying. These findings indicate that thermal processing strengthens the glucose- and insulin-related functionality of Raphani Semen and enhances its potential value as a functional food ingredient for metabolic health.