[#2005-04] Are Botanical Glucans Effecti...

Are Botanical Glucans Effective in Enhancing Tumoricidal Cell Activity? Cunningham-Rundles S, Lin H, Cassileth B Department of Pediatrics, The Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY Studies of nutrient immune interactions have shown that protein calorie malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency impair immune development and immune response especially in critical phases of life. More recently, important data on the role of fatty acids in immune responses has emerged. The question of how or when dietary intervention might augment immune response or reduce...

[#2005-03] Maitake, Lull, Cristina et al...

Anti-inflammatory and Immunomodulating Properties of Fungal Metabolites Cristina Lull,1 Harry J. Wichers,1 and Huub F. J. Savelkoul2 1Agrotechnology and Food Innovations, Wageningen University and Research Center, Bornsesteeg 59, 6708 PD Wageningen, The Netherlands 2Cell Biology and Immunology Group, Wageningen University and Research Center, Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands Received 22 December 2004; accepted 25 January 2005 We discuss current information on the ability of extracts and isolated metabolites from mushrooms such as Ganoderma lucidum...

[#2005-02] Maitake D-Fraction enhances a...

Maitake D-Fraction enhances antitumor effects and reduces immunosuppression by mitomycin-C in tumor-bearing mice Kodama N, Murata Y, Asakawa A, Inui A, Hayashi M, Sakai N, Nanba H. Department of Microbial Chemistry, Kobe Pharmaceutical University OBJECTIVE: D-Fraction, a polysaccharide extracted from maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa), has been reported to exhibit an antitumor effect through activation of immunocompetent cells, including macrophages and T cells, with modulation of the balance between T-helper 1 and 2 cells. We examined whether D-Fraction could decrease...

[#2004-13] Medicinal Value of Culinary-M...

Medicinal Value of Culinary-Medicinal Maitake Mushroom Grifola frondosa (Dicks.:Fr.) S.F. Gray (Aphyllophoromycetideae). Review. Cun Zhuang and Solomon P Wasser ABSTRACT: Grifola frondosa (Maitake) is a culinary—medicinal mushroom found in some parts of Europe, North America, and Asia. It usually grows naturally on and around the roots of various kinds of deciduous trees. In Japan, it was found in the northern part, and wild G. frondosa was served only at top-class restaurants because of its good flavor, crisp texture, and excellent aroma. Since the mid-1980s, the...

[#2004-12] Usefulness of Anti-Cancer Com...

Usefulness of Anti-Cancer Complementary Immune Therapy with DVM Fraction Shimada, T(a), Shnidman, E(b), Shirota, M(b) a) Department of Veterinary Surgery, Osaka Prefecture University, Japan b) Maitake Products, Inc. D-fraction was used as a complementary therapy for dogs with cancer treated with conventional anti-cancer therapies (surgery and chemotherapy). Due to its appealing taste, the dogs did not offer any resistance to its long-term use. According to pet owners, in almost all cases it helped to maintain or improve the quality of life of the dogs, with no observable...

[#2004-11] Purification and Characteriza...

Purification and Characterization of a Novel Prolyl Aminopeptidase from Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Kazuyuki HIWATASHI,1 Kazuyuki HoRI,I Keitaro TAKAHASHI,’ Akira KAGAYA,2 Shunzo INouE,2 Toshihiro SUGIYAMA,3 and Saori TAKAHASHIl‘t ‘Department of Bioengineering, Akita Research Institute of Food and Brewing,2Akita Jujo Chemicals Co., Ltd.3Department of Biochemistry, Akita University School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita 010-8543, Japan   We have found a novel prolyl aminopeptidase in Maitake (Grifola frondosa). The enzyme was purified by...