A Review of Ganoderma Triterpenoids and Their Bioactivities

Author: mycolabadmin
2022-12-22
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Summary

This research provides a comprehensive review of bioactive compounds called triterpenoids found in Ganoderma mushrooms, which have been used in traditional Asian medicine for centuries. The study catalogs hundreds of these compounds and their potential therapeutic benefits. Impacts on everyday life: • Provides scientific validation for traditional medicinal uses of Ganoderma mushrooms • Identifies promising compounds for developing new drugs to treat cancer, HIV, and inflammatory diseases • Helps explain why Ganoderma supplements may have health benefits • Supports development of standardized Ganoderma products for consumer use • Advances understanding of natural compounds that could lead to safer medicines with fewer side effects

Background

Ganoderma has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries for centuries to prevent and treat various diseases. The genus contains over 600 chemical compounds including alkaloids, meroterpenoids, nucleobases, nucleosides, polysaccharides, proteins, steroids and triterpenes, with triterpenes serving as the primary components. Ganoderma triterpenes and other small molecular constituents have attracted significant interest from chemists and pharmacologists in recent years.

Objective

This review aims to describe 495 triterpenoid compounds isolated from 25 Ganoderma species published between 1984 and 2022, examining their source, biosynthetic pathway, identification, biological activities and biosynthesis, along with applications of advanced analytical techniques for characterizing Ganoderma triterpenoids.

Results

The review identified and characterized 495 triterpenoid compounds from 25 Ganoderma species. The compounds were classified into seven types based on carbon skeleton: C31, C30, C29, C27, C25, C24, and rearranged novel skeleton triterpenoids. Many compounds showed significant biological activities including anti-cancer, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory effects. The biosynthetic pathways and structure-activity relationships were elucidated for several compound classes.

Conclusion

Ganoderma triterpenoids represent a diverse class of bioactive compounds with significant therapeutic potential. The structural diversity and broad spectrum of biological activities make them promising candidates for drug development. While substantial progress has been made in identifying and characterizing these compounds, further research is needed to fully understand their mechanisms of action and develop them into clinical applications.

Published in:Biomolecules,
Study Type:Review,
Source: 10.3390/biom13010024