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  Volume 3 Number 1   February 17, 2007

An edible mushroom Lentinus edodes is one of the popular foods in several Asian countries.  The water-soluble extract of the mycelial culture of Lentinus edodes (designated as LEM) was isolated from solid medium of sugar-cane bagasse and defatted rice bran. Studies have shown that LEM and its purified fractions have many biological effects including antiviral, immuno-modulating and antitumor activities. In this issue, LEM was demonstrated to enhance the antitumor activity of the clinical used 5-fluorouracil against the human colon cancer cell xenografts in nude mice, suggesting a potential study to develop a novel combination therapy or cancer-preventing regimens. 

The foreground is the picture of the mushroom Lentinus edodes; the background is the microscopic examination of Lentinus edodes mycelia.

For details, please see the research paper  [3(1) 15-22] in this issue.