Polysaccharides are closely associated with immune regulation. In this study, the aim was to investigate the effect of polysaccharides from Cordyceps gunnii mycelia (PPS) in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunodeficient mice. Compared with the CTX-induced immunosuppressed mice, the spleen and thymus indexes in mice with orally administered PPS were significantly increased, body weight loss was alleviated, and the natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity and proliferative activities of the lymphocytes were elevated. The recovery of peripheral white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobins and platelets was accelerated. Furthermore, the results from ELISA showed that PPS could up-regulate the serum levels of IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ and IgG, and reduce the level of TGF-β. Histopathological analysis of the spleen revealed the protective effect of PPS against CTX-induced immunosuppression. Western blotting results showed that PPS possessed immunomodulatory activity via TLR4/TRAF6/NF-κB signalling pathways. Finally, the intestinal absorption of PPS was poor, as detected in the Caco-2 transwell system. Taken together, these findings suggest that PPS plays a crucial role in protection against immunosuppression in cyclophosphamide-treated mice and could be a potential candidate for use in immune therapy regimens.

Polysaccharides can be used as a potential hepatoprotective agent in the treatment of acute liver injury. However, the underlying mechanism governing how polysaccharides protect against acute liver injury induced by lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN) remains unclear. To investigate the mechanism, the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory action and pathways were determined. In this study, we investigated the hepatoprotective effects of Grifola frondosa polysaccharides (GFP), which are obtained from the fruiting body of Grifola frondosa, on (LPS/D-GalN)-induced liver injury in mice. Histopathological analyses showed that GFP protected against LPS/D-GalN-induced lung inflammation. The activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the levels of the inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were inhibited by GFP. The LPS/D-GalN-induced myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were inhibited by GFP. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were upregulated by GFP. The GFP-treated group showed reduced expression levels of miR-122 in liver tissue. Nrf2 has been identified as a potential target of miR-122. The western blotting results showed that GFP attenuates LPS/D-GalN-induced acute liver injury via upregulating transcription factors Nrf2, Nqo-1, and HO-1 and downregulating transcription factor Keap-1 in the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. In conclusion, these results indicated that GFP was highly effective in inhibiting liver injury and may be a promising potential therapeutic reagent for liver injury treatment. GFP exerts protective effects against LPS/D-GalN-induced liver injury in mice, which may be related to the regulation of the miR-122-Nrf2/ARE pathways.

Grifola Frondosa, the king of mushrooms, is one of the most valued traditional medicines and has been used as a health food for a long time in China, Japan, and other Asian countries. The present study was designed to evaluate the immune-modulating effects of water-soluble polysaccharides from the Grifola Frondosa fruiting body (GFP) by using mouse peritoneal macrophage and cytoxan (CTX) induced immunosuppression models. Compared with CTX-induced immunosuppressive mice, the spleen and thymus indexes in mice with GFP orally administrated were significantly increased, body weight loss was alleviated, and the natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity and the proliferative activities of lymphocytes were elevated. Furthermore, levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were notably reduced by CTX, while GFP abolished these effects. GFP also effectively increased total antioxidant capacity and superoxidase dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities, and inhibited an increase in the malondialdehyde level. Histopathological analysis of spleens revealed the protective effect of GFP against CTX-induced immunosuppression. Western blotting results showed that GFP possessed immunomodulatory activity by up-regulating transcription factors (p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and SOCS3) in JAK2/STAT3/SOCS signaling pathways. This study suggested that GFP may provide an alternative strategy for lessening chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression.

The TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway has been linked to hepatic fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that yellow polysaccharide can prevent the development of hepatic fibrosis. However, it is unclear whether the polysaccharide affects the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. In this experiment, 50 experimental rats were randomly divided into a normal control group, model group, low GFP dose group (50 mg kg⁻¹), medium GFP dose group (100 mg kg⁻¹), and high GFP dose group (200 mg kg⁻¹). A cirrhotic portal hypertension rat model was established by a CCl₄ compound method. After 12 weeks of intragastric administration, the liver index of the medium dose and high dose group was significantly lower than that of the model group. The hepatic fibrosis lesions of rats in each dose group were improved to different extents, and the effect was most significant in the high dose group. The contents of ALT, AST, TBIL and CIV, PCIII, LN and HA in serum were significantly decreased. The activity of SOD and GSH-Px in the liver tissue of GFP medium and high dose groups was significantly increased and the content of MDA was significantly decreased. The contents of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly decreased. The western blot results showed that the expressions of p-Smad 2/3, Smad4, PAI-1, Imp7 and Imp8 in medium dose and high dose groups were significantly lower than those in the model group, while the expression of Smad7 was significantly higher than that of the model group. The GFP-treated group was able to reduce the expression level of mi R-154 in liver tissue and increase the expression level of miR-146a. GFP has a significant intervention effect on rat hepatic fibrosis, and its mechanism may inhibit the progression of hepatic fibrosis by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory response and regulating TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway and mi RNA expression.

Odor is an important characteristic of walnut oil; walnut oil aromas from different varieties smell differently. In order to compare the differences of volatile flavor characteristics in different varieties of walnut oil, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of walnut oil from five different walnut varieties in Northwest China were detected and analyzed using headspace gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (HS–GC–IMS). The results showed that 41 VOCs in total were identified in walnut oil from five different varieties, including 14 aldehydes, 8 alcohols, 4 ketones, and 2 esters. Walnut oil (WO) extracted from the “Zha343” variety was most abundant in VOCs. The relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis showed that aldehydes were the main aroma substances of walnut oil; specifically, hexanal, pentanal, and heptanal were the most abundant. Fingerprints and heat map analysis indicated that WO extracted from the “Xin2”, “185”, “Xin’guang”, and “Zha343” varieties, but not from the “Xinfeng” variety, had characteristic markers. The relative content differences of eight key VOCs in WO from five varieties can be directly compared by Kruskal–Wallis tests, among which the distribution four substances, hexanal (M), hexanal (D), pentanal (M), (E)-2-hexanal (M), presented extremely significant differences (P<0.01). According to the results of the principal component analysis (PCA), WO extracted from the “Zha343” variety was distinct from the other four varieties; in addition, WO extracted from the “Xin2” variety exhibited similarity to WO extracted from the “185” variety, and WO extracted from the “Xinfeng” variety showed similarity to WO extracted from the “Xin’guang” variety. These results reveal that there are certain differences in the VOCs extracted from five different WO varieties, making it feasible to distinguish different varieties of walnut oil or to rapidly detect walnut oil quality based on its volatile substances profile.