Secondary Metabolites from Hericium erinaceus and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activities

Abstract

Hericium erinaceus , a culinary and medicinal mushroom, is widely consumed in Asian countries. Chemical investigation on the fruiting bodies of Hericium erinaceus led to the isolation of one new ergostane-type sterol fatty acid ester, erinarol K ( 1 ); and eleven known compounds: 5α,8α -epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-yl linoleate ( 2 ); ethyl linoleate ( 3 ); linoleic acid ( 4 ); hericene A ( 5 ); hericene D ( 6 ); hericene E ( 7 ); ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one ( 8 ); hericenone F ( 9 ); ergosterol ( 10 ); ergosterol peroxide ( 11 ); 3β,5α,6α,22 E -ergosta-7,22-diene-3,5,6-triol 6-oleate ( 12 ). The chemical structures of the compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy, mass spectra, etc. Anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated aromatic compounds ( 5 - 7 , 9 ) were evaluated in terms of inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediator (TNF-α, IL-6 and NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The results showed that compounds 5 and 9 exhibited moderate activity against TNF-α (IC 50 : 78.50 μM and 62.46 μM), IL-6 (IC 50 : 56.33 μM and 48.50 μM) and NO (IC 50 : 87.31 μM and 76.16 μM) secretion. These results supply new information about the secondary metabolites of Hericium erinaceus and their anti-inflammatory effects.