A new anti-tumor cytotoxic triterpene from Ganoderma lucidum

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a famous medicinal fungus used as a traditional medicine for generations in China. Among bioactivities that G. lucidum possesses, the anti-tumor effect has aroused extensive interests. In this study, one new triterpene (1) was isolated from 90% ethanol extract of the dried fruiting bodies of G. lucidum. Its structure was determined based on the analysis of its spectroscopic data, including 1 D and 2 D NMR and MS spectra. Furthermore, 1 elicited moderate anti-tumor activities (IC₅₀ values of 15.38 ± 0.34 and 18.61 ± 0.55 μM for A549 and HepG2 cells, respectively) compared with cisplatin which was employed as the positive drug with IC₅₀ values of 8.21 ± 0.17 and 5.36 ± 0.29 μM for A549 and HepG2 cells, respectively. The mechanism study by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis suggested that the p53/caspase-3 pathway is involved in the 1-induced apoptosis.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Ganoderma lucidum
• anti-cancer
• HepG2
• A549
• p53
• apoptosis

Acknowledgement

The authors sincerely thank the support by Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Guangdong Province [grant number 20211341] , National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81803689], the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [grant number 2018A030310292], and the YIWEN Talent Project of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University [grant number 2021#9].

Declaration of interest statement

The Authors Report No Declarations Of Interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors sincerely thank the support by Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Guangdong Province [grant number 20211341] , National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81803689], the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [grant number 2018A030310292], and the YIWEN Talent Project of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University [grant number 2021#9].