The Influence of the Hot Water Extract from Shiitake Medicinal Mushroom, Lentinus edodes (Higher Basidiomycetes) on the Food Intake, Life Span, and Age-Related Locomotor Activity of Drosophila melanogaster

Shiitake medicinal mushroom, Lentinus edodes is among the most widely cultivated edible mushrooms in the world and is a well-studied source of nutrients and biologically active compounds. We have studied the influence of the dietary supplement of the polysaccharides containing a hot water extract of the mushroom. L. edodes on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in terms of food intake, body weight, life span, and age-related locomotor activity. L. edodes extract, when added to the D. melanogaster feeding substrate at a 0.003−0.030% concentration (calculated for the dry weight of the polysaccharide fraction) did not influence food intake or body weight of the flies. It increased the life span and locomotor activities of male flies but was associated with early mortality and decreased locomotor activity of female flies. We conclude that the observed anti-aging effects of L. edodes extracts in the male D. melanogaster are not the result of dietary restriction. We propose that D. melanogaster is a suitable model organism for researching the molecular basis of the anti-aging effect of the shiitake mushroom extracts and sex linkage of these effects.