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Hypoglycemic activity of the fungi Cordyceps militaris, Cordyceps sinensis, Tricholoma mongolicum, and Omphalia lapidescens in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

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Abstract

Crude extracts were prepared from fruiting bodies and mycelia of the medicinal fungus Cordyceps militaris, and a polysaccharide-enriched fraction was obtained after extraction with hot water and ethanol precipitation. Polysaccharide-enriched fractions were similarly prepared from Cordyceps sinensis, Omphalia lapidescens, and Tricholoma mongolicum. The various aforementioned preparations were orally administered into different groups of adult rats 24 h before an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg body weight), and subsequently daily for another 4 days. The dosage used was 10 mg/kg body weight for polysaccharide-enriched preparations and 100 mg/kg body weight for crude extracts. Control rats received distilled water instead of crude extract or polysaccharide-enriched preparation. It was found in the control rats that plasma glucose level rose from about 90 mg/dl before streptozotocin injection to levels that were maintained at about 300 mg/dl postinjection. All preparations produced hypoglycemic effects. C. militaris polysaccharide-enriched fraction displayed a more prominent effect than that of C. sinensis polysaccharide-enriched fraction which in turn was more potent than that of O. lapidescens and T. mongolicum polysaccharide-enriched fractions. The hypoglycemic effect of C. militaris polysaccharide-enriched fraction was dose-dependent.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Miss Fion Yung for her expert secretarial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Agrobiotechnology and Department of Microbiology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, People’s Republic of China

    Guoqing Zhang, Yuedong Huang, Yong Bian & Hexiang Wang

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hongkong, People’s Republic of China

    Jack H. Wong & T. B. Ng

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  1. Guoqing Zhang
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  2. Yuedong Huang
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  3. Yong Bian
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  4. Jack H. Wong
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  5. T. B. Ng
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  6. Hexiang Wang
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Correspondence to Hexiang Wang.

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Zhang, G., Huang, Y., Bian, Y. et al. Hypoglycemic activity of the fungi Cordyceps militaris, Cordyceps sinensis, Tricholoma mongolicum, and Omphalia lapidescens in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 72, 1152–1156 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0411-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0411-9

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