Lentinan is a
polysaccharide
Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...
isolated from the
fruit body
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
of
shiitake
The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe.
Taxonomy
The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by ...
mushroom (''Lentinula edodes'').
Chemistry
Lentinan is a β-1,3
beta-glucan
Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides ( glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, with significantly differing physicochemical properties dependent on source. Typically, ...
with β-1,6 branching. It has a molecular weight of 500,000 Da and specific rotation of +14-22° (NaOH).
Research
Preclinical studies
An ''
in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
'' experiment showed lentinan stimulated production of white blood cells in the human cell line
U937.
Lentinan is thought to be inactive in humans when given orally and is therefore administered intravenously. The authors of an ''
in vivo
Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...
'' study of lentinan suggested that the compound may be active when administered orally in mice.
Human clinical trials
Lentinan has been the subject of a limited number of clinical studies in cancer patients in Japan;
however, evidence of
efficacy
Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made betwee ...
is lacking.
Adverse effects
Lentinan has been reported to cause
shiitake mushroom dermatitis.
See also
*
Medicinal mushrooms
References
External links
Lentinaneffects (antitumor and others)
*Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's page fo
Lentinan
{{Carbohydrates
Immunostimulants
Polysaccharides