Natural products of the medicinal fungus Ganoderma lucidum: Occurrence, biological activities, and pharmacological functions

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum, a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine, produces polysaccharides and oxygenated triterpenoids with a very broad spectrum of biological activities and pharmacological functions. Among the Ganoderma triterpenoids, many pairs of C‐3 α/β stereoisomers and C‐3/C‐15 positional isomers have been identified. Biosynthetic study has indicated that the C‐3α series of oxygenated triterpenoids is derived from the C‐3β series via an oxidation‐reduction pathway. The interaction of Ganoderma triterpenoids with human platelets in the induction of aggregation and inhibition of agonist‐induced aggregation and signal transduction has been elucidated. Reduction of cellular mevalonate content to a stage in which cholesterol synthesis is strongly inhibited and cell growth is marginally arrested sensitizes hepatoma cells to the oxygenated triterpenoids. A combination treatment of lovastatin and Ganoderma triterpenoids in animal studies has exhibited a potential anticancer effect. © 2003 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Chem Rec 3: 172–180; 2003: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.10058