Medicinal Fungi: A Natural Source of Pharmacologically Important Metabolites

Medicinal fungi have diverse biological properties such as anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, antidiabetic, and antioxidative activities. Mushrooms are known to possess bioactive molecules, i.e., polysaccharides like β-glucans, triterpenoids, and antioxidants. These molecules are known to have therapeutic activities including immunomodulation. Among these medicinal mushrooms, species of Ganoderma like G. lucidum, commonly called as Reishi (traditional Chinese medicine), has shown a potential anticancer activity. Polysaccharides extracted from this mushroom show anticancer activity through immunomodulation. Chaga, Inonotus obliquus, is another mushroom been used as a folk medicine against cancer. Cordyceps is one of the most important health foods of humans, which grows on larvae of moths and converts each larva into a sclerotium, from which the stroma and fruit body grows. Another medicinal mushroom, Phellinus linteus containing Beta D-Glucan and lectin was shown to have immunomodulating effects. Xylaria is commonly known as dead man finger fungus, some of its species producing sesquiterpenes have been used as medicine for treating insomnia and depression. The purpose of this review is to summarize information regarding pharmacologically important compounds from medicinal fungi.