Functionality Studies of Antrodia Cinnamomea Extracts in vitro and in vivo
Wen-Yuan Hu
Polysaccharides and triterpenoids have been reported to be the major bioactive components in
the extracts of Antrodia cinnamomea fruiting bodies and mycelia cultivated on solid-state and
liquid media. However full qualitative and quantitative elucidation of the active substances in A.
cinnamomea fruiting bodies and mycelia has not yet been achieved. Our work is primarily
focused on biological functionality assays of the A. cinnamomea extracts to determine the
common key features and benefits of taking A. cinnamomea as dietary supplements; and appraise
the A. cinnamomea production process and product development. By collaboration with Taiwan
Shennong Fungal Technology Corporation, we have prepared phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)
and ethanol extracts from A. cinnamomea fruiting bodies and mycelia. In the anti-inflammation
studies, PBS or ethanol extracts were injected intraperitoneally into male C57BL/6J mice one
hour before injection of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Although some solvent soluble triterpenoids
have been identified as the active compounds in anti-inflammation reaction, our results showed
that PBS extracts of solid-state cultivated mycelia were more effective in inhibiting LPS-induced
inflammatory response than ethanol extracts from either fruiting body or mycelia. In the cell
based assays, we observed that ethanol extracts from fruiting bodies trigger cell death in various
breast, lung, liver, and pancreatic cancer cell lines. In contrast, cancer cells treated with ethanol
extracts from solid-state cultivated mycelia did not show apoptosis-like phenotype, but more
likely they enter senescence. These results suggest differences in the stages of A. cinnamomea
cell cycle and extraction methods can produce apparent variations in biological functionalities
and eventually in future biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. Chemical
fingerprinting has been used to identify and distinguish different Antrodia species. Here we
present an alternative approach to characterize A. cinnamomea and its products by study of the
variability in biological functionalities and utilities.