Recent Advances on the Biologically Active Triterpenoids of Ganoderma lucidum

摘要

The fruit body of Ganoderma lucidum has been used as a folk medicine for various diseases as described 2000 years ago in Shen Nong's Materia Medica. The traditional medicinal efficacies of the mushroom are treatments of hepatopathy, nephritis, hypertension, hyperlipemia, arthritis, neurasthenia, insomnia, bronchitis, asthma, gastric ulcer, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. Some of these efficacies, such as cytotoxicity on hepatoma cell, inhibition of platelet aggregation, antihypertension, hypocholesterolemic activity, inhibition of histamine release, and anti- HIV activity were scientifically proved to be true by virtue of isolation of the corresponding components. Although various components such as polysaccharides, proteins, minerals and sterols have been reported from this mushroom, triterpenoids are mainly responsible for the biological activities. As more than 150 triterpenoids were reported in this medicinal fungus during the last three decades, there is a need to review most of the structures reported and their medicinal activities. The lanostane-type triterpenoids were divided into 10 groups according to their structural similarities and the known biological and medicinal activities were described in this article.