Effects of a water-soluble extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia on aberrant crypt foci induced by azoxymethane and small-intestinal injury by 5-FU in F344 rats

The present study investigated whether a water-soluble extract from the culture medium of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia (Japanese: Reishi or Mannentake) (designated as MAK) exerted a protective effect against induction of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) by azoxymethane (AOM) and small-intestinal damage induced by the anticancer drug 5-FU. Six-week-old male F344 rats were fed a basic diet (MF), either alone or containing 2.5 % MAK, beginning 1 week before treatment with AOM. The rats were then given subcutaneous injections of AOM (15 mg/kg body weight) once in a week for 3 weeks. Next, beginning 1 day after the final AOM treatment, 25 or 80 mg/kg 5-FU was injected intraperitoneally three times at 5-day intervals. Finally, the rats were killed 3.5 days after the last injection of 5-FU. The large and small intestines were removed, and tissue specimens were examined for both ACF in the large intestine and regeneration of small-intestinal crypts. The number of ACF was significantly decreased by treatment with 25 mg 5-FU and further decreased by 25 mg 5-FU + MAK in comparison with 5-FU alone. Moreover, there was a greater degree of recovery from small-intestinal damage in the 5-FU + MAK groups than in rats that had received 5-FU alone. The present results indicate that MAK ameliorates the colon precancerous lesions induced by AOM and the small-intestinal injury caused by 5-FU, suggesting that MAK could have potential as a preventive agent against colonic precancer, which is a common adverse effect of chemotherapy.