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							| Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007



	

				
						
 
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																Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007
										

				


				
				
					
					
						
																					
				
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					Vol. 3 No. 2 (2013): February 2013
				
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									Review Articles
							
		



	
		  	 

		
	
		Anti-cancer activities of Ganoderma lucidum: active ingredients and pathways
	


	
	
		

							
					Authors

						
							
								Chi Kao
							
															
									Discipline of Nutrition, FM&HS, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142
																	
																																		
	
							
								Amalini C. Jesuthasan
							
															
									Discipline of Nutrition, FM&HS, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142
																	
																																		
	
							
								Karen S. Bishop
							
															
									Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, FM&HS, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142
																	
																																		
	
							
								Marcus P. Glucina
							
															
									Great Navy Ltd, Manuwera, Auckland
																	
																																		
	
							
								Lynnette R. Ferguson
							
															
									Discipline of Nutrition, FM&HS, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142
																	
																																		


				
			
																	
					
												DOI:
					

					
						
							https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i2.65
						
					
				
			

						
										
					Abstract

					Ganoderma lucidum, commonly referred to as Lingzhi, has been used in Asia for health promotion for centuries. The anti-cancer effects of G. lucidum have been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In addition, the observed anti-cancer activities of Ganoderma have prompted its usage by cancer patients alongside chemotherapy. The main two bioactive components of G. lucidum can be broadly grouped into triterpenes and polysaccharides. Despite triterpenes and polysaccharides being widely known as the major active ingredients, the different biological pathways by which they exert their anti-cancer effect remain poorly defined. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of action may lead to more widespread use of Ganoderma as an anti-cancer agent. The aim of this paper is to summarise the various bioactive mechanisms that have been proposed for the anti-cancer properties of triterpenes and polysaccharides extracted from G. lucidum. A literature search of published papers on NCBI with keywords “Ganoderma” and “cancer” was performed. Among those, studies which specifically examined the anti-cancer activities of Ganoderma triterpenes and polysaccharides were selected to be included in this paper. We have found five potential mechanisms which are associated with the anti-cancer activities of Ganoderma triterpenes and three potential mechanisms for Ganoderma polysaccharides. In addition, G. lucidum has been used in combination with known anti-cancer agents to improve the anti-cancer efficacies. This suggests Ganoderma’s bioactive pathways may compliment that of anti-cancer agents. In this paper we present several potential anti-cancer mechanisms of Ganoderma triterpenes and polysaccharides which can be used for the development of Ganoderma as an anti-cancer agent.

Keywords: Ganoderma lucidum, cancer, bioactive pathways, triterpene, polysaccharide

				
			
			

						
																																															
						
		


		

						
										
					
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																			2013-02-09
																	

				
							

			
						
										

											
							
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									Vol. 3 No. 2 (2013): February 2013
								
							

						
					
											
							
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