Determination of the Five Main Terpenoids in Different Tissues of Wolfiporia cocos

Summary

This research examined the chemical compounds found in different parts of Wolfiporia cocos, a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Asian medicine. The study found that the outer layer of the mushroom contains the highest levels of beneficial compounds, especially when grown using environmentally friendly methods. This discovery has important implications for both medicine and sustainable agriculture. Impacts on everyday life: • Provides a more sustainable way to produce traditional medicines without destroying pine forests • Helps identify which parts of medicinal mushrooms are most valuable for health benefits • Supports development of more effective natural health products • Demonstrates how modern science can improve traditional medicine production • Shows potential for reducing environmental impact while maintaining medicinal quality

Background

Wolfiporia cocos is an edible and medicinal mushroom that grows on pine tree roots and has been widely used as an herbal medicine in China, Japan, Korea, and North America. It contains various triterpenoids and is used in many traditional Chinese prescriptions to treat conditions like gastritis, nephrosis, edema, dizziness, nausea, emesis and hyperglycemia. According to the 2010 Chinese Pharmacopoeia, over 10% of traditional Chinese medicine preparations include W. cocos.

Objective

This study aimed to identify and systematically profile the contents and distribution of the five main triterpenoids in different tissues of Wolfiporia cocos, including analysis of natural sclerotium, cultured mycelium, pollution-controlled cultivation sclerotium, and fruiting body tissues.

Results

The highest contents of all five triterpenoids were found in the surface layer of the sclerotium grown under pollution-controlled cultivation. The second-highest contents were found in the surface layer of the natural sclerotium. In pollution-controlled cultured sclerotium surface layer, the abundances ranged from 9.1 to 21.2 g/kg for different compounds. The contents in the matured fruiting body were significantly lower than in the sclerotia and surface layers.

Conclusion

The surface layer of W. cocos sclerotium contains the highest concentration of bioactive triterpenoids, making it a promising raw material for health care and medical product development. Additionally, environmentally friendly pollution-controlled cultivation appears to be a practical way to increase W. cocos productivity while maintaining high triterpenoid content.
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