Cytotoxicity Effect of Agaricus blazei, Grifola frondosa and Hericiumerinaceus Used in Traditional Medicine

摘要

Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM), Grifola frondosa (GF) and Hericium erinaceus (HE) are mushrooms that arenative to China and are widely cultivated in Malaysia for its medicinal uses. They are considered as the most importantedible and culinary-medicinal biotechnology species. This study was carried out to determine the in vitro toxicity of thesemedicinal mushrooms and their possible risk to human health. Extracts were prepared from these mushrooms usingvarious solvents. The cytotoxicity of these extracts was determined using the MTT assay [3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] in Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line (V79-4). Five different concentrations of themushroom extracts (2mg/ml, 1mg/ml, 0.5mg/ml, 0.25mg/ml and 0.125mg/ml) were used and cytotoxicity was determinedfollowing 24 hours treatment. The results showed that only aqueous extracts of Agaricus blazeii Murrill displaycytotoxicity effects (IC50—1.7mg/ml) compared to the methanol extracts. In conclusion, the aqueous extracts of Agaricusblazeii Murrill showed weak cytotoxicity in vitro compared to methanol extracts, suggesting that these mushrooms aresafe to consume.