• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.96 no.5
• /
• pp.515-519
• /
• 2007

An imperfect fungus Fusiococcum species was isolated from Quercus dentata. A naturally infected Daimyo oak tree was collected and showed elongate wounds on the stem. The fungal cultures were initially white and cottony, and later turned dark gray. Numerous solitary pycnidia were developed on the medium surface, and typically spherical. Yellowish conidial masses were exuded from pycnidia on the culture plates. Conidial masses were swollen and measured as approximately 100 to $300{\mu}m$ in length. It appeared that conidia were usually held together in globose to oval drops. Conidia were hyaline, single-celled (nonseptate), ellipsoid to fusoid, and measured as approximately $8.0{\times}2.7{\mu}m$. Based on these cultural and morphological characteristics, the fungal isolate was identified as a species of Fusicoccum Corda. To preserve and examine fungal spores exuded from pycnidia on the medium surface, a vapor fixation procedure for scanning electron microscopy was employed in this study. The specimens were exposed to the vapor of 2% (v/v) glutaraldehyde and 2% (w/v) osmium tetroxide each for 2 h. With the vapor fixation we obtained excellent retention of conidial masses in this study. The simple and versatile procedure for demonstrating fungal spores and their exudation from fruiting bodies would facilitate characterization of diverse pathological and environmental isolates as they are in native environments.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.80-84
• /
• 2001

Nine species of genus Ganoderma different in cultural characteristics each other were separated by histo-anatomical differences. Differences among the species and geographic distribution of G. lucidum were also analyzed to provide the criteria for the classification of Korean cultivation or wild type strains. Korean cultivation and wild type strains were quiet different from other species as well as Taiwan and North American G. lucidum strains in histo-anatomical traits of Ganoderma. Pore color of Korean G. lucidum strains was less brown than those of Taiwan and North American strains. Shapes of pores were round or circular in Korean strains but ellipsoidal or angular in Taiwan or North American strains. Pore numbers of Korean strains were more than those($4{\sim}6/mm$) of Taiwan or North American strains. Hardness of the pileus of Korean strains was much more than that of Taiwan or North American strains. Such characteristics of Korean strains were different from those of other species of Ganoderma. Korean G. lucidum strains could be classified into the other group because they had many different traits in growth characteristics of fruiting bodies and histo-anatomical characteristics from those of Taiwan or North American G. lucidum and other species of G. lucidum complex.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.46-51
• /
• 2010

The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of hot water extract from Cordyceps militaris fruiting bodies (CMWE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production, tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) release in RAW 264.7 cells. The treatment of macrophages with various concentrations of hot CMWE significantly reduced LPS-induced production as well as NO, TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-6 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that CMWE have potent inhibitory effects on the production of these inflammatory mediators.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.58-61
• /
• 2010

In an effort to develop novel mushroom-derived anti-obesity nutraceuticals, water and ethanol extracts containing the lipaseinhibitory compound from Phellinus linteus were prepared, and their nutritional components were determined. The optimal conditions for the extraction of P. linteus lipase inhibitor involved the treatment of the fruiting bodies with distilled water at $80^{\circ}C$ for 72 hr and 80% ethanol at $100^{\circ}C$ for 60 hr, respectively. The distilled water extract and ethanol extract contained 10.9% and 6.11% of crude protein, and 0.96% and 15.86% of crude fat, respectively. Additionally, the distilled water extract contained a large quantity of minerals, including 239.5 mg of K, 39.3 mg of Mg, and 39.3 mg of Na. The free amino acid content of the distilled water extracts was also higher than that of the ethanol extracts, and in particular, the distilled water extracts contained 5,139 mg of asparagine, 3,891 mg of tryptophan, 2,598 mg of alanine, and 2,066 mg of serine in 100 g of the distilled water extracts. 100 g of the distilled water and ethanol extracts were found to contain 12.31 g and 8.16 g of malic acid, respectively.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.04a
• /
• pp.231-234
• /
• 2000

The polysaccharide has been known to have an antitumor activity, which were extracted from the fruiting bodies, mycelia, and culture broths of Agaricus blazei. For the cell growth and the polysaccharide production, the optimal medium contained 8% glucose, 2% yeast extract, 0.1% $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 0.2% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.2% $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ and 0.2% $MnSO_4{\cdot}5H_2O$. When 0.2% of glutamic acid was added at 4day, the cell concentration was 13.5 g/L and the polysaccharide production was 9.9 g/L, respectively.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.250-256
• /
• 2004

Cordyceps possesses numerous health-promoting ingredients including hypoglycemic agents. The mechanism for the reduction of circulatory sugar content, however, is still not fully understand. In this study, 4-beta acetoxyscirpendiol (ASD) was purified from the methanolic extracts from fruiting bodies of Paecilomyces tenuipes. Na+/Glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1) was expressed in the Xenopus oocytes. The effect of ASD on the oocyte expressed SGLT-1 was analyzed utilizing the voltage clamp and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DOG) uptake studies. ASD was shown to significantly inhibit SGLT-1 activity compared to the non-treated control in a dose- dependent manner. In the presense of its two derivatives (diacetoxyscirpenol or 15-acetoxyscirpendiol), SGLT-1 activity was greatly inhibited similarly as ASD. Between ASD derivatives, 15-acetoxyscirepenol showed inhibition equivalent to that of ASD while diacetoxyscirpenol did less degree of inhibition. Insummary , these results strongly indicate that ASD in P. tenuipes may serve as a functional substance in lowering blood sugar in the circulatory system. ASD and its derivatives can be utilized as inhibitors of SGLT-1.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.211-217
• /
• 2005

Cordyceps, an entomopathogenic fungus, contains many health-promoting ingredients. Recent reports indicate that the consumption of cordyceps helps reduce blood-sugar content in diabetics. However, the mechanism underlying this reduction in circulatory sugar content is not fully understood. Methanolic extracts were prepared from the fruiting bodies of Paecilomyces tenuipes, and 4-beta acetoxyscirpendiol (4-ASD) was eventually isolated and purified. $Na^+$/Glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1) was expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and the effect of 4-ASD on SGLT-1 was analyzed utilizing a voltage clamp and by performing 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DOG) uptake studies. 4-ASD was shown to significantly inhibit SGLT-1 activity compared to the non-treated control in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of the derivatives of 4-ASD (diacetoxyscirpenol or 15-acetoxyscirpendiol), SGLT-1 activity was greatly inhibited in an 4-ASD-like manner. Of these derivatives, 15-acetoxyscirepenol inhibited SGLT-1 as well as 4-ASD, whereas diacetoxyscirpenol was slightly less effective. Taken together, these results strongly indicate that 4-ASD in P. tenuipes may lower blood sugar levels in the circulatory system. We conclude that 4-ASD and its derivatives are effective SGLT-1 inhibitors.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.184-188
• /
• 2010

Calocybe indica, known as milky white mushroom, grows and cultivated in the sub-tropical and temperate zones of South Asia. We investigated the most suitable supplements and their levels for the commercial cultivation of milky white mushroom. Rice bran, maize powder, and wheat bran with their different levels (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%) were used as supplements to evaluate the yield and yield contributing characteristics of C. indica. Primordia initiation was observed between 13.5 and 19.3 days. The results indicated that the 30% maize powder supplement was effective for producing viable fruiting bodies. The maximum diameters of the pileus and stalk were observed with 30% maize powder. The highest biological and economic yield and biological efficiency were also obtained with 30% maize powder as a supplement. The results indicate that increasing the supplement level resulted in less biological efficiency, and that 30% maize powder was the best supplement level for rice straw substrate to cultivate milky white mushrooms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.267-271
• /
• 2000

Abstract Two glucans (PONGa and PONGb) differing in their anomeric and glycosidic linkage structures were isolated from the water-insoluble materials (PON) of Pleurotus ostreatus basidiocarps, which activated the complement system and were almost soley composed of D-glucose. The isolatIon was achieved by repeated precipitations with ethanol and adsorption on concanavalin A (Con A) of paN suspension in thymol/NaCL Based on methylation analysis. IR, GLC-MS, $^1H,{\;}and{\;}^{13}C-NMR$ spectroscopies, PONGa was found to be a branched a-glucan composed of ${\alpha}-linked$ D-glucopyranose residues and ${\alpha}-linked$ units with 6-branching points, whereas PONGb was a linear ${\beta}-1,3-glucan$ composed mainly of ${\beta}-1,3-linked$ D-glucopyranose residues. The PONGb particles reacted more potently than the PONGa particles as C3 activator in alternative complement hemolysis and crossed-immunoelectrophoresis using anti-human C3, thereby suggesting that the complement activating components of PON were ${\beta}-(13)-glucans rather$ than ${\alpha}-glucan$ components.onents.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.49-54
• /
• 2009

The mushroom Cordyceps militaris has been used for a long time in eastern Asia as a nutraceutical and in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for cancer patients. In the present study, a cytotoxic antifungal protease was purified from the dried fruiting bodies of C. militaris using anion-exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sepharose column. Electrophoretic analyses indicated that this protein, designated C. militaris protein(CMP), has a molecular mass of 12 kDa and a pI of 5.1. The optimum conditions for protease activity were a temperature of $37^{\circ}C$ and pH of $7.0{\sim}9.0$. The enzyme activity was specifically inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Amino acid composition of intact CMP and amino acid sequences of three major peptides from a tryptic digest of CMP were determined. CMP exerted strong antifungal effect against the growth of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, and exhibited cytotoxicity against human breast and bladder cancer cells. These results indicate that C. militaris represents a source of a novel protein that might be applied in diverse biological and medicinal applications.