Cuantificación de los compuestos bioactivos y capacidad antioxidante del hongo Cordyceps sinensis para su uso potencial como aditivo alimentario / Quantification of the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of the Cordyceps sinensis fungus for its potential use as a food additive

El uso de antioxidantes contribuye a disminuir el deterioro de los alimentos. Una práctica común en la actualidad es el uso de aditivos alimentarios de origen sintético, como el butilhidroxitolueno (BHT) y butilhidroxianisol (BHA). El hongo Cordyceps sinensis es ampliamente usado en la medicina asiática y se ha encontrado que aporta múltiples beneficios. Con el fin de evaluar la capacidad antioxidante de este hongo como aditivo alimentario, se obtuvieron extractos a partir de harina de C. sinensis, utilizando extracto acuoso (T1), etanólico (T2), acuoso-etanólico (T3) y acuoso a 50 °C (T4) (en una relación soluto/solvente de 100 g/900 mL c/u). Para la harina se determinó la composición química proximal, obteniendo alto contenido de carbohidratos (80%), y valores bajos de humedad, proteína, grasa y cenizas (<10%). Se determinó el contenido de fitoquímicos, incluyendo contenido de polisacáridos totales (CPT), fenoles totales (CFT), flavonoides totales (CFvT), flavonas y flavonoles totales (CFFT), flavanonas y dihidroflavonoles totales (CFDT), y ácido clorogénico (CAC). Además, actividad antirradical DPPH y ABTS, así como poder reductor (PR). Los resultados indicaron que el extracto T3, seguido del extracto T1, presentaron la mayor capacidad antioxidante (DPPH. ABTS y PR), lo cual fue asociado con el CFT, CFFT, y CFDT, así como CPT, CFvT y CAC, respectivamente. Se recomienda evaluar el efecto de la adición de los extractos obtenidos de la harina de C. sinensis sobre la estabilidad oxidativa y microbiológica de productos cárnicos.

Cordyceps sinensis promotes immune regulation and enhances bacteriostatic activity of PA-824 via IL-10 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease

PA-824 is a novel bicyclic nitroimidazole anti-tuberculosis (TB) drug. Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. (CS) was proven to be a good immunomodulatory compound. This research aimed to investigate the effect of CS on PA-824 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infected mice (female CBA/J mice, 6 to 8 weeks of age and 20±2 g of weight). Mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups: PA-824, CS, PA-824+CS, and control. To verify the effect of PA-824 and CS on M.tb, after drug administration, mice lungs were harvested and bacterial colony formations were measured. Cells were isolated from infected lungs and spleens to analyze the percentage of CD4+ T cells (CD11a positive). Lung cells were cultured to detect the secretion of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) by ELISA. IFN-γ and IL-10 double-positive CD4+ cells in peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry. The expression levels of IL-2 and IL-10 in mice lungs were analyzed by real-time PCR and western blot. Results showed that PA-824 combined with CS led to the lowest lung colony-forming units (CFU) counts among treated groups. Furthermore, this beneficial outcome might be associated with the decreased CD11a on CD4+ cells in mice lungs and spleens. Moreover, the suppressed secretion of IFN-γ and IL-10, and IL-10 expressions, as well as the decreased IFN-γ and IL-10 double-positive CD4+ cells in blood, could also be associated with the positive effect. However, no significant effect on IL-2 production was found. The combination of PA-824 and CS had more effective bacteriostatic and immunomodulatory effects on M.tb infected mice than PA-824 alone. In conclusion, CS has the potential to be an effective adjuvant in TB treatment.

Phytochemical and antimicrobial activities of Himalayan Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc.

This study evaluated the phytochemical and antimicrobial activities and also quantified bioactive nucleoside using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) of five extracts of Indian Himalayan Cordyceps sinensis prepared with different solvents employing accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) technique. The phytochemical potential of these extracts was quantified in terms of total phenolic and total flavonoid content while antioxidant activities were determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Total reducing power (TRP) was determined by converting iron (III) into iron (II) reduction assay. CS50%Alc (15.1+ 0.67mg/g of dry extract) and CS100%Alc (19.3 + 0.33mg/g of dry extract) showed highest phenolic and flavonoid content, respectively while CSAq extract showed maximum antioxidant activity and the highest concentration of the three nucleosides (adenine 12.8±0.49 mg/g, adenosine 0.36±0.28 mg/g and uracil 0.14±0.36 mg/g of dry extract) determined by HPTLC. The evaluation of extracts for antimicrobial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial strains showed CS25%Alc, CS75%Alc and CS100%Alc extract to be more effective against E. coli, P. aerugenosa and B. subtilis giving 9, 7 and 6.5 mm of zone of inhibition (ZOI) in 93.75, 93.75 and 45 µg concentration, respectively, whereas CSAq extract showed minimal inhibition against these.