User:BefeatheredBiped/Ganoderma applanatum

A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its use as a drawing medium for artists. When the fresh white pore surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, dark brown tissue under the pores is revealed, resulting in visible lines and shading that become permanent once the fungus is dried. This practice is what gives the Ganoderma applanatum it's common name.

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This fungus grows as a mycelium within the wood of living and dead trees. It forms fruiting bodies that are 3–30 cm wide × 5–50 cm long × 1–10 cm thick, hard as leather, woody-textured, and inedible. They are white at first but soon turn dark red-brown. Brown spores are released from the pores on the underside of the fruiting body. The spores are highly concentrated, and as many as 4.65 billion spores can be dispersed from a 10-10cm section of the conk within 24 hours. The tubes are 4–12 mm deep and terminate in pores that are round with 4–6 per millimetre. The fruiting bodies are perennial, and may persist for multiple years, increasing in size and forming new layers of pores as they grow. These layers can be distinguished in a cross section, allowing the fruiting body's age to be determined using the same method as tree rings.

A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its use as a drawing medium for artists. When the fresh white pore surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, dark brown tissue under the pores is revealed, resulting in visible lines and shading that become permanent once the fungus is dried. This practice is what gives the Ganoderma applanatum it's common name.

G. applanatum is a medicinal farming crop that is used as a flavor enhancer in Asian cuisine. G. applanatum is non-digestible in its raw form, but is considered edible when cooked. Hot herbal soups, or fermentation in lemon acid with onion is a common use for cooking with G. applanatum slices as an umami flavor enhancer in fermented foods. G. applanatum can also be used in tea.

References

Medical

National distribution of [Ganoderma lipsiense (Batch) G.F. Atk, Syn. G. applanatum (pers.) Pat.; Elfvingia applanate (Pers.) Karst.], also known as “Pingezhi”, “flat Ganoderma lucidum” or “Ganoderma applanatum”, is extensive, it has been used in the history of medicine for thousands of years and has various biological activities such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidation and regulation of body immunity. Pre-laboratory study found that Ganoderma applanatum polysaccharides could induce apoptosis of breast cancer MCF-7 cells, and the mechanism was via mitochondrial pathway

(MAPK pathway source)

Ganoderma applanatum is a widely distributed saprobic or parasitic mushroom, it was found at the bases of decaying logs in Hakozaki Higashi-ku Fukuoka-shi. Japan. The mushroom was extracted with 80% methanol, and LC-HRMS analysis was conducted to illustrate the bioactive ingredients. The cytotoxicity of the total metabolite extract was evaluated against human colon cancer cell line (Caco-2) which showed IC50 value of 160 ± 4.08 μg/ml. G. applanatum methanolic extract caused different morphological alterations and increased glutathione level in the treated cells. Interestingly, G. applanatum increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio significantly (P ˂ 0.05) at concentrations of 80 and 160 μg/ml on Caco-2 undergoing apoptotic p53-independent pathway with lake expression of p53 protein and up-regulated Cas-3 mRNA. The in vivo study on solid Ehrlich tumor (SEC) revealed a decrease in the volume of the developed tumor mass after five days of G. applanatum (200 μg/ml) treatment. The apoptotic p53-dependant pathway was confirmed by mRNA Bax/Bcl-2 increased ratio in addition to p53 and Cas-3 up-regulation. In conclusion, G. applanatum could exert apoptotic antitumor properties in Caco-2 by p53-independent pathway and p53-dependant in SEC. The findings proved that G. applanatum can be a promising candidate as alternative or co-anticancer medications.

Ganoderma applanatum is a medicinal farming crop which grows within the dead and living trees. Studies proved this genus to have a potent antimicrobial, anti-fibrotic and anti-tumor properties [8]. Other effects are attributed to a wide variety of bioactive components, such as polysaccharides, triterpenes, sterols, lectins and other proteins [[9], [10]]. This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the extract and the cytotoxicity of the bioactive compounds of this genus on colorectal cancer cell line, Caco-2 Human Colon Cancer, the inhibition of some anti-apoptosis proteins by affecting the regulation of the responsible genes were also investigated. LC-HRMS analysis was used to evaluate the bioactive compounds and to investigate the significance of these metabolites in the biological activity.

(APOPTOSIS source)

Species of the genus Ganoderma are generally studied from three complementary aspects: (i) medicinal – as potent “bio-factories” producing numerous bioactive compounds (Paterson, 2006); (ii) phytopathological – as serious pathogens on several plant species (Silva et al., 2005) and (iii) biotechnological – as producers of ligninolytic enzymes applicable in numerous processes (Dias et al., 2010). In contrast to Ganoderma lucidum which has been comprehensively studied from all these standpoints, Ganoderma applanatum has not been sufficiently researched, especially its ligninolytic potential. It is a widely-distributed wood decaying species, inhabiting numerous deciduous and coniferous trees, which implies the existence of a potent ligninolytic enzyme system capable of degrading all the components of the wood tissue (Dinis et al., 2009). These ligninolytic properties were the basis for classifying the species in the group of white rot fungi (Salmon et al., 2014). The increased need for alternative, renewable sources of energy and nutrients such as lignocellulosic biomass has led to expanded interest in ligninolytic enzymes of the white rot fungi.

(STRAW source)