Immuno-potentiating Effects of the Antler-shaped Fruiting Body of Ganoderma lucidum (Rokkaku-Reishi)
Michihiro KOHGUCHI 1, Toshio KUNIKATA 1, Hikaru WATANABE 2, Naoki KUDO 2, Takashi SHIBUYA 2, Tatsuya ISHIHARA 1, Kanso IWAKI 1, Masao IKEDA 1, Shigeharu FUKUDA 2, and Masashi KURIMOTO 1
1 Fujisaki Institute, Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc., 675-1 Fujisaki, Okayama 702-8006, Japan
2 Amase Institute, Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Inc., 7-7 Amase-minami, Okayama 700-0834, Japan
The immuno-potentiating effects of the antler-shaped fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum (Rokkaku-Reishi, RR), which has been used as a traditional supplement for human health, were investigated in mice. BALB/c
mice were administered orally with RR for 3 days at a dose of 50 mg/kg or 500 mg/kg, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by splenocytes in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was examined on day 4. The oral
administration of 500 mg/kg of RR resulted in a significant increase (p < 0:05) in IFN-γ production. Stimulation of splenic adherent cells from these mice with LPS also resulted in a significant increase (p < 0:05) in interleukin-12 (IL-12) production compared with that from the control mice, suggesting that splenic macrophages were activated by RR administration. Furthermore, 500 mg/kg of RR administered for 14 days resulted in a significant increase (p < 0:05) in IFN-γ production by splenocytes in response to both LPS and concanavalin A (Con A). These results suggest that not only splenic macrophages but also T cells were activated by the long-term treatment with RR in vivo. On the other hand, the production of interleukin-4 (IL-4), which is known as an allergic disease-related cytokine, was not affected by the long-term treatment with RR. Our results suggest that the oral administration of RR resulted in Th1-associated immuno-potentiating activities in vivo.
Keywords
Rokkaku-Reishi (RR); interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production; interleukin-12 (IL-12) production; immuno-potentiating activity; in vivo
