科研之友
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摘要
About 80% of the world population currently relies on indigenous or traditional medicines to treat many types of aliments. Antrodia cinnamomea (niu-chang-chih, previously named A. camphorata; hereafter referred to as AC) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal mushroom that is found only in the endemic, aromatic tree Cinnamomum kanehirai Hayata (Lauraceae) in Taiwan. The aromatic fruiting body of AC looks like a brownish-red leaf attached to the C. kanehirai tree of sessile. A great deal of work has been carried out on the therapeutic potential of AC. Over 225 compounds extracted from AC have been described, including macromolecules (nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides), small molecules (benzenoids, lignans, benzoquinones and maleic/succinic acid derivatives), terpenoids (lanostane triterpenes, ergostane triterpenes, diterpenes, monoterpenes and steroids), nucleotides (nucleobase and nucleoside), fatty acids and fatly acid esters. Many of them exhibit pharmacological activity, with anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, antiinflammatory, cardiovascular, hepatoprotective, vasodilatory, neuroprotective, immunological, antimicrobial and anti-oxidative properties. They can also attenuate the progression of nephritis and the activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor by cigarette smoke. Because AC has attracted a lot of attention for its antitumour and immunological properties, this review will focus on these in particular, and we will also discuss their underlying mechanisms of action.
- 出版日期2012-2
