title: Effects of a water-soluble extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia on aberrant crypt foci induced by azoxymethane and small-intestinal injury by 5-FU in F344 rats.
abstract: The present study investigated whether a water-soluble extract from the culture medium of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia (Japanese: Reishi or Mannentake) (designated as MAK) exerted a protective effect against induction of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) by azoxymethane (AOM) and small-intestinal damage induced by the anticancer drug 5-FU. Six-week-old male F344 rats were fed a basic diet (MF), either alone or containing 2.5 % MAK, beginning 1 week before treatment with AOM. The rats were then given subcutaneous injections of AOM (15 mg/kg body weight) once in a week for 3 weeks. Next, beginning 1 day after the final AOM treatment, 25 or 80 mg/kg 5-FU was injected intraperitoneally three times at 5-day intervals. Finally, the rats were killed 3.5 days after the last injection of 5-FU. The large and small intestines were removed, and tissue specimens were examined for both ACF in the large intestine and regeneration of small-intestinal crypts. The number of ACF was significantly decreased by treatment with 25 mg 5-FU and further decreased by 25 mg 5-FU + MAK in comparison with 5-FU alone. Moreover, there was a greater degree of recovery from small-intestinal damage in the 5-FU + MAK groups than in rats that had received 5-FU alone. The present results indicate that MAK ameliorates the colon precancerous lesions induced by AOM and the small-intestinal injury caused by 5-FU, suggesting that MAK could have potential as a preventive agent against colonic precancer, which is a common adverse effect of chemotherapy.
authors: Department of Experimental Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Kasumi 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan. tonko@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors: Hiromitsu
authors: H
authors: Watanabe
authors: Naoki
authors: N
authors: Kashimoto
authors: Mitsuyasu
authors: M
authors: Ushijima
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Tamura
mesh_terms: D058739:Aberrant Crypt Foci; D000818:Animals; D001397:Azoxymethane / Q000633:toxicity; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000293:injuries; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D025282:Mycelium / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D020940:Reishi / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D014867:Water; D001397:Azoxymethane; D005472:Fluorouracil