• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.5 s.72
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• pp.809-818
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• 2005

The effects of fermented chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) on the concentrations of serum glucose, insulin, lipids and lipid peroxidation in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were investigated. Rats were fed a semisynthetic diet supplemented with 50 g/kg chaga mushroom powder (the CM group) and fermented chaga mushroom powder (the FCM group), and no supplemented (the control group) for 3 weeks. The polysaccharide concentrations were CM by $42.9\%$ and FCM by $ 39.1\%$, and the total polyphenol concentrations were CM by $ 0.80\%$ and FCM by $0.91\%$. Feed intakes and water consumption, serum glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and blood urea nitrogen concentrations were significantly lower in the FCM group than in both the CM and control groups. The activities of AST and ALT were also significantly lower in the FCM group than in the control group. No significant differences were detected with regard to the serum cholesterol and creatinine concentrations among the experimental groups. Lipid peroxidations in hepatic homogenate, microsomal and mitochondrial subcellular and pancreas were significantly lowered by the administration of FCM in the STZ-diabetic rats. Hepatic glutathione concentrations, which is closely associated with antioxidant system, was significantly higher in the FCM group than in the control group, indicating a marked effect of FCM administration on the endogenous antioxidant system. However, CM treatment showed a moderate antioxidative activity in the STZ-diabetic rats. Our results indicate that fermented chaga mushroom exert hypoglycemic and antioxidative effects in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.231-241
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• 2020

In this study in order to develop new approaches we investigated using high voltage pulsed electric fields (PEF) technology to reduce the risks, protect the phyto-constituents and improve skin biological activities. After preparing a Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) extracts pretreated with PEF, components measurement and skin efficacy evaluation were performed. As a result of the content measurement, the content of polysaccharide and polyphenol were higher in the order of extracts treated with 50 Hz and 25 Hz at 0.5 kV/cm, and the content of protein was the highest in extracts treated with 25 Hz at 0.5k V/cm. Similar to the results of the polyphenol measurements, extracts treated with 25 Hz and 50 Hz at 0.5 kV/cm showed leading DPPH scavenging ability. The cell protection effect against sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and UVB was finest in extracts treated with 25 Hz at 0.5 kV/cm, which had the highest protein content. And the hyaluronic acid synthesis was leading in extracts treated with 50 Hz and 100 Hz at 0.5 kV/cm. Therefore, the active ingredient of the high-voltage PEF pre-treatment Chaga mushroom extract can be developed as a functional material with cell protection and moisturizing effect, and such green technology is expected to be used in various fields of cosmetics and material development.

• Mycobiology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.158-162
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• 2005

The immunomodulatory effect of aqueous extract of Inonotus obliquus, called as Chaga, was tested on bone marrow cells from chemically immunosuppressed mice. The Chaga water extract was daily administered for 24 days to mice that had been treated with cyclophosphamide (400 mg/kg body weight), immunosuppressive alkylating agent. The number of colony-forming unit (CFU)-granulocytes/macrophages (GM) and erythroid burst-forming unit (BFU-E), increased almost to the levels seen in non-treated control as early as 8 days after treatment. Oral administration of the extract highly increased serum levels of IL-6. Also, the level of $TNF-{\alpha}$ was elevated by the chemical treatment in control mice, whereas was maintained at the background level in the extract-treated mice, indicating that the extract might effectively suppress $TNF-{\alpha}$ related pathologic conditions. These results strongly suggest the great potential of the aqueous extract from Inonotus obliquus as immune enhancer during chemotherapy.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2019

Chaga mushroom and Cheonggukjang have been used in alternative medicine. In this study, we determined the anti-obesity effects of fermented Chaga-Cheonggukjang (FCC), an extract prepared by secondary fermentation of a mixture of Cheonggukjang and Chaga by Lactobacillus acidophilus on highfat diet (HFD)-induced mice. Male ICR mice were fed a normal diet or HFD in the presence or absence of 3% and 5% FCC (FCC3 and FCC5). After 3 months, the mice were sacrificed, and serum and tissue samples were examined. Body weight and epididymal fat pad (EFP) weight were significantly lowered in FCC3 and FCC5 groups compared to those in the HFD control group. FCC supplementation suppressed serum triglyceride (TG) and increased serum HDL levels. Serum GOT, GPT, leptin levels and hepatic COX-2 mRNA expression were significantly higher in the HFD groups, and these increases were significantly attenuated by FCC supplementation. FCC suppressed body weight and EFP weight gain, as well as inflammatory responses in the liver in HFD-fed mice. Thus, FCC supplementation may have protective effects for obesity-related disease.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 2010

The Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) has been used in folk medicine to treat cancers. However, limited information exists on the underlying anticancer effects of the major component of I. obliquus in vivo. We hypothesize that the pure compounds ($3{\beta}$-hydroxy-lanosta-8,24-dien-21-al, inotodiol and lanosterol, respectively) separated from I. obliquus would inhibit tumor growth in Balbc/c mice bearing Sarcoma-180 cells (S-180) in vivo and growth of human carcinoma cells in vitro. To test this hypothesis, the growth inhibition of each subfraction isolated from I. obliquus on human carcinoma cell lines (lung carcinoma A-549 cells, stomach adenocarcinoma AGS cells, breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells, and cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells) was tested in vitro. Then, after S-180 implantation, the mice were fed a normal chow supplemented with 0, 0.1 or 0.2 mg of subfraction 1, 2 or 3 per mouse per day. All of the subfractions isolated from I. obliquus showed significant cytotoxic activity against the selected cancer cell lines in vitro. Subfraction 1 was more active than subfraction 2 and subfraction 3 against the A549, AGS and MCF-7 cancer cell lines in vitro. In in vivo results, subfraction 1 isolated from I. obliquus at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.2 mg/mouse per day significantly decreased tumor volume by 23.96% and 33.71%, respectively, as compared with the control. Subfractions 2 and 3 also significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice bearing S-180 as compared with the control mouse tumor. Subfraction 1 isolated from I. obliquus showed greater inhibition of tumor growth than subfractions 2 and 3, which agrees well with the in vitro results. The results suggest that I. obliquus and its compounds in these subfractions isolated from I. obliquus could be used as natural anticancer ingredients in the food and/or pharmaceutical industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1378-1387
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• 2012

To investigate the pharmacological activity of chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) on extraction conditions, chaga was extracted using water (reflux at $50^{\circ}C$, decoction over $90^{\circ}C$, pressure at $121^{\circ}C$) or ethanol (reflux at 50, 70, or $90^{\circ}C$). When water extract was further fractionated into crude polysaccharide (IO-CP), yields of IO-CP (4.8~16.8%) were higher than those of ethanolic extracts (IO-E, 1.9~2.7%) at increased temperature. For antioxidant activity, crude polysaccharide (IO-CP-121) obtained by pressurized extraction showed the highest polyphenolic and flavonoid contents (35.10 mg TAE/g and 18.48 mg QE/g, respectively) as well as DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities (26.08 and 27.99 mg AEAC/100 mg, respectively). Meanwhile, IO-CP-D (decoction) and IO-CP-50 (reflux) had more potent mitogenic effects (2.10- and 1.95-fold of saline control at 100 ${\mu}g/mL$) as well as intestinal immune system modulating activities (6.30- and 5.74-fold) compared to IO-CP-121, whereas ethanolic extracts showed no activity. Although no IO-CP showed cytotoxicity against RAW 264.7 cells at 0.1 mg/mL, IO-CP-121 significantly inhibited TNF-${\alpha}$ and NO production as pro-inflammatory factors in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells (29.2 and 63.5%, respectively). Ethanolic extracts also showed no cytotoxicity at 0.1 mg/mL, whereas inhibition of TNF-${\alpha}$ and NO production was significantly low compared to that of IO-CP-121. In addition, active IO-CP-D was further fractionated into an unadsorbed (IO-CP-I) and seven adsorbed fractions (IO-CP-II~VIII) by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography in order to isolate immunostimulating polysaccharide. IO-CP-II showed the most potent mitogenic effect and macrophage stimulating activity (4.51- and 1.64-fold, respectively). IO-CP-II mainly contained neutral sugars (61.86%) in addition to a small amount of uronic acid (2.96%), and component sugar analysis showed that IO-CP-II consisted mainly of Glc, Gal, and Man (molar ratio of 1.00:0.55:0.31). Therefore, extraction conditions affect the physiological activity of chaga, and immunostimulating polysaccharide fractionated from chaga by decoction is composed mainly of neutral sugars.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2009

Extracts and fractions of Inonotus obliquus (Chaga in Russia) have been known to have various biological activities, including antimutagenic, anticancer, antioxidative, and immunostimulating effects. This study was performed to confirm anticancer effect of 10% superfine Chaga mushroom processed by nano-mill technology on C57BL/6 mice. Chaga particles belonged in the size of 1 ${\mu}m$ was about 40% after nanomill processing according to the volume distribution. As the result of subcutaneous injection of B16BL6 melanoma cells to the mice, the tumor volume (p<0.001) and tumor weight (p<0.01) was significantly decreased in the experimental (NCh) group as compared with control (C) group and the tumor growth inhibitory rate was 29.2%. On examination of survival rate after intraperitoneal injection of B16BL6 melanoma cells, the mean survival time per a mouse was 17.7 and 26.0 days in C and NCh group respectively. The survival rate of NCh group was 40% when that of C group was 0% at the 35th day. On the result of examination to confirm histological toxicity by Chaga superfine particles, both groups did not show any morphological and pathological changes in the small and large intestine under the light microscope. These results suggest that feeding of superfine Chaga produced by nanomill technique has a tumor growth inhibitory effect in vivo.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Inonotus obliquus (I. obliquus, Chaga mushroom) has long been used as a folk medicine to treat cancer. In the present study, we examined whether or not ethanol extract of I. obliquus (EEIO) inhibits cell cycle progression in HT-29 human colon cancer cells, in addition to its mechanism of action. MATERIALS/METHODS: To examine the effects of Inonotus obliquus on the cell cycle progression and the molecular mechanism in colon cancer cells, HT-29 human colon cancer cells were cultured in the presence of $2.5-10{\mu}g/mL$ of EEIO, and analyzed the cell cycle arrest by flow cytometry and the cell cycle controlling protein expression by Western blotting. RESULTS: Treatment cells with $2.5-10{\mu}g/mL$ of EEIO reduced viable HT-29 cell numbers and DNA synthesis, increased the percentage of cells in $G_1$ phase, decreased protein expression of CDK2, CDK4, and cyclin D1, increased expression of p21, p27, and p53, and inhibited phosphorylation of Rb and E2F1 expression. Among I. obliquus fractions, fraction 2 (fractionated by dichloromethane from EEIO) showed the same effect as EEIO treatment on cell proliferation and cell cycle-related protein levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that fraction 2 is the major fraction that induces $G_1$ arrest and inhibits cell proliferation, suggesting I. obliquus could be used as a natural anti-cancer ingredient in the food and/or pharmaceutical industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.739-748
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• 2019

Cheonggukjang and chaga mushrooms have numerous health benefits, and have been used in alternative medicine. Therefore, a powder mixture of 98: Cheonggukjang and 2: Chaga extracts was fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus KCTC3925 (FCC) and its anti-obesity effects in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice were determined. Five-week-old male ICR mice were fed a normal diet or HFD in the presence or absence of 3% and 5% FCC by weight (n = 10 per group). After 12 weeks, the mice were sacrificed, and the serum and tissue samples were collected for analysis. Body weight and epididymal fat pad weight were significantly lowered in the 3% and 5% FCC groups compared with those in the HFD control group (p < 0.01). FCC supplementation suppressed serum triglyceride and increased serum HDL-C levels (p < 0.01). Serum GOT, GPT, and leptin levels, hepatic COX-2 mRNA expression, and splenic COX-2 and IL-4 mRNA expression were significantly higher in the HFD groups than in the control group (p > 0.05); however, except for splenic IL-4 levels, the increases were significantly attenuated by FCC supplementation. Expression of ICAM-1, an aortic inflammatory marker, was significantly increased in the HFD group; this effect was suppressed in the 3% FCC group (p < 0.01) but not in the 5% FCC group. FCC suppressed the body weight and epididymal fat pad weight gain, as well as inflammatory responses in the liver and spleen of HFD-fed mice. Thus, FCC supplementation will be beneficial for the treatment of obesity-related effects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.233-239
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• 2015

This study determined the optimum extraction conditions based on five response variables (yield, total phenolics, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavanging activity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan content) in chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) using the response surface methodology, where three independent variables (ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time) were optimized using a central composite design. The optimum ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time were 50% (w/w), $88.7^{\circ}C$, and 14.5 h; 9.2%, $92.7^{\circ}C$, and 14.5 h; 50.8%, $92.7^{\circ}C$, and 14.5 h; 9.2%, $92.7^{\circ}C$, and 1.5 h; and 90.8%, $92.7^{\circ}C$, and 1.5 h for yield, total phenolics, ABTS, ORAC, and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan content, respectively. The predicted values of the response variables were compared with those of the extracts under the optimal extraction conditions to verify the models. The optimum extraction condition for the five response variables was predicted to be 81.4% ethanol at $92.7^{\circ}C$ for 14.5 h.