[#2008-03] Compounds for dementia from Hericium erinaceum, Hirokazu Kawagishi et al.

Compounds for dementia from Hericium erinaceum.  

Kawagishi, Hirokazu and Zhuang, Cun

Abstract

Our group has been conducting a search for com­pounds for dementia derived from medicinal mush­rooms since 1991. A series of benzyl alcohol deriva­tives (named hericenones C to H), as well as a series of diterpenoid derivatives (named erinacines A to I) were isolated from the mushroom Hericium erinaceum. These compounds significantly induced the synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF) in vitro and in vivo. In a recent study, dilinoleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (DLPE) was isolated from the mushroom and was found to protect against neuronal cell death caused by β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) toxicity, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the results of preliminary clinical trials showed that the mushroom was effective in patients with dementia in improving the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score or retarding disease progression.