الفهرس 
I. IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The modern pharmacological therapy is costly and associated with
multiple side effects resulting in patient non-compliance. Thus there is a
need to explore alternative therapies particularly from herbal sources as
these are cost effective and possess minimal side effects. Plants produce
an amazing amount of complex chemicals we can use as medicines to
“curb and cure” disease. For example, the reishi mushroom (Ganoderma
lucidum) is a white rot, wood-decaying fungus that is classified within the
family Ganodermaceae of Polyporales which show hard fruiting bodies.
Nutritional studies indicated that G. lucidum contains mainly protein, fat,
carbohydrate and fiber. Artificially cultivated variety has similar contents
of nutritional components compared withwild types, and the extraction
significantly increases the amounts of crude protein and carbohydrates
and deleted crude fiber. However, there are qualitative and quantitative
differences in the chemical composition of G. lucidum products
depending on the strain, origin, extracting process, and cultivation
conditions.
Beside the all mentioned nutrients, the fruiting body, mycelia, and
spores of G. lucidum contain approximately 400 different
bioactive/phytochemical compounds, which mainly include triterpenoids,
polysaccharides, nucleotides, sterols, steroids, fatty acids,
proteins/peptides, and trace elements. Amongst all of these compounds,
the triterpenoids and polysaccharides are occupied the central position as
the most biologically active compounds. Triterpenoids extracted from G.
lucidum are reported to be responsible for many of the pharmaceutical
properties of the fungus. Thus far, hundreds of triterpenoids have been
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isolated in G. lucidum and many more are likely to be discovered in the
future. Two major types of triterpenoids are ganoderic acids (C30) and
lucidenic acids (C27), with the total triterpenoid content in G. lucidum
ranging from 0.6 to 11 mg/g o`f dry powder.
These triterpenoids were reported to mitigate diabetes and regulate
inflammatory pathways in cell culture. Triterpenoids from G. lucidum
also possess significant chemo-therapeutic potential and exhibit cytotoxic
effects on colon carcinoma cells. It has been reported that triterpenoid
fraction of G. lucidum containing ganoderic acid F affect on activities
tumor growth and metastasis which were mainly due to inhibition of
tumor-induced angiogenesis. Also, triterpenoids, such as ganoderic acids
T–Z isolated from G. lucidum, showed cytotoxic activity in vitro on
hepatoma cells. Other studies report that different triterpenoids of G.
lucidum have strong anti-HIV-1 protease activity and that triterpenes such
as ganodermic acids C and D inhibit histamine release.Moreover,
triterpenoids of G. lucidum have been reported to exert various enzyme
inhibitory activities. Inhibitors of farnesyl protein transferase (FTP) have
been demonstrated to inhibit Ras-dependent cell transformation and thus
represent a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of human
cancers.
For the polysaccharides, more than 100 types have been isolated
from the fruiting body, spores, and mycelia, or separated from the broth
of a submerged liquid culture of G. lucidum . G. lucidum polysaccharides
such as β-D-glucans, heteropolysaccharides, and glycoprotein have been
isolated, characterized, quantified at 10–50% in dry weight and are
considered the major contributors of bioactivity of the mushroom.
Polysaccharides of G. lucidum also have cancer-fighting properties owing
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primarily to modulation of the immune system and cellular protection
from free radicals.
Extracts from G. lucidum (e.g., polysaccharide fractions, methanolic
extracts, and LZ-8) have mitogenic effects on mouse splenocytes and
human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the presence of
various immunostimulating or immunosuppressive agents (e.g., PHA and
12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate). Moreover, Animal studies have
demonstrated that the polysaccharide fractions of G. lucidum have
potential hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities. Research with G.
lucidum on diabetic mice indicates that free radical scavenging of
polysaccharides protects pancreatic islets from oxidative stress. This
finding is significant because it suggests that G. lucidum may have
therapeutic benefits in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
For the unique content of bioactive compounds and their biological
roles, G. lucidum has been reported to have a number of pharmacological
effects including immunomodulating, antiatherosclerotic, antiinflammatory,
analgesic, chemopreventive, antitumor, radioprotective,
sleeppromoting, antibacterial, antiviral (including anti-HIV),
hypolipidemic, antifibrotic, hepatoprotective, diabetic, antioxidative and
radical-scavenging, anti-aging, hypoglycemic, and anti-ulcer properties.
Although, studies regarding the relationship between the feeding of G.
lucidum and bone health are so limited. Therefore,the purpose of this
study was to elucidate the potential effects of reishi mushroom
(Ganoderma lucidum) feeding on bone indices and serum minerals
profile disorders induced by CCl4 on rat. Also, some serum immunemodulating
factors and macromolecules will be determined for the same
animals in a trial to make a correlation with their bone health parameters.
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The obtained results could be summarized as follow:
Effect of red mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) powder on
immunological parameters of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride
Albumin
Serum levels of albumin was tested and compared. Albumin of rats
injected CCl4 and consumed red mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum)
powder (RMP) was shown in Table (2) and Figure (1). from such data it
could be noticed that treatment of animals with CCl4 caused a significant
decreased (p≤0.05) in albumin (30.12%) compared to normal controls.
Supplementation of the rat diets with RMP (1.0 to 5.0 g/100g) prevented
the lower of mean serum albumin level. The rate of preventative was
increased with the increasing of the RMP concentration. The rate of
decreasing in the albumin level was recorded -23.21, -20.25, -10.86, -8.64
and -5.68% with the rat diets supplemented by 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0
g/100g of RMP, respectively.
Reduced glutathione (GSH)
The mean value of GSH for control (-) group was 8.61± 1.10 g/dl
while there were significantly (P≤0.05) decreased in serum GSH for
control (+) group with percent of change 32.52% compared to control (-)
group. Supplementation of the rat diets with RMP (1.0 to 5.0 g/100g)
prevented the lower of mean serum GSH level. The rate of preventative
was increased with the increasing of the RMP concentration. The rate of
decreasing in the GSH level was recorded -26.60, -20.09, -16.38, -8.94
and -7.20 % with the rat diets supplemented by 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0
g/100g of RMP, respectively.
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Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)
Serum levels of inflammation response factor (Tumor necrosis
factor-α, TNF-α) was tested and compared. TNF-α of rats injected CCl4
and consumed red mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) powder (RMP) was
shown in Table (2) and Figure (1). from such data it could be noticed that
treatment of animals with CCl4 caused a significant increased (p≤0.05) in
TNF-α (93.28%) compared to normal controls. Supplementation of the rat
diets with RMP (1.0 to 5.0 g/100g) prevented the rise of mean serum
TNF-α level. The rate of preventative was increased with the increasing
of the RMP concentration. The rate of increasing in the TNF-α level was
recorded 65.67, 43.28, 30.60, 14.18 and 11.19% with the rat diets
supplemented by 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 g/100g of RMP, respectively.
Effect of red mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) powder on serum
minerals profile of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride
Treatment of animals with CCl4 caused a significant increased
(p≤0.05) in Fe (-31.14%), Ca (-21.36%) and P (-25.76%) compared to
normal controls. Supplementation of the rat diets with RMP (1.0 to 5.0
g/100g) prevented the rise of mean serum Fe, Ca and P content. The rate
of preventative was increased with the increasing of the RMP
concentration. The rate of increasing in the liver enzymatic activities
were recorded -25.14, -17.65, -13.38, -7.30 and -4.24 % (For Fe); -
19.73, -17.80, -12.46, -7.32 and -4.45% (for Ca) and -23.48, -17.42, -
14.39, -9.09 and -6.82% (for P) with the rat diets supplemented by 1.0,
2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 g/100g of RMP, respectively.
N I. ECTION I.
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Effect of red mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) powder on bone
indices of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride
Bone indices of rats injected CCl4 and consumed red mushroom
(Ganoderma lucidum) powder (RMP) were shown in Tables (2-5). From
such data it could be noticed that treatment of animals with CCl4 caused a
significant decreased (p≤0.05) in Bone mineral density (BMD, -19.20%),
Bone g- protein (BG-P, -37.54%) and Bone mineral content (BMC, -
30.56%) compared to normal controls. Supplementation of the rat diets
with RMP (1.0 to 5.0 g/100g) prevented the lower of mean bone BMD,
BG-P and BMC indices. The rate of preventative was increased with the
increasing of the RMP concentration. Such as shown in Figures (1-7), the
rate of increasing in the bone indices were recorded -16.00, -11.20, -7.20,
-5.60 and -1.60 % (For BMD); -32.68, -18.87, -12.40, -7.88 and -6.93%
(for BG-P) and -25.00, -22.22, -13.89, -8.33 and -8.33% (for BMC) with
the rat diets supplemented by 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 g/100g of RMP,
respectively.