BACKGROUND: The use of natural bioactive compounds in conventional chemotherapy is a new direction in cancer treatment that is gaining more research attention recently. Bioactive polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein complexes from some fungi (edible mushrooms) have been identified as sources of effective and non-toxic antineoplastic agents. Selected oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus pulmonarius and P. ostreatus being local [Nigeria] and exotic strains, respectively) were cultured on a novel medium of yeast extract supplemented with an ethanolic extract of Annona senegalensis, and the antileukemic potential of their metabolites was studied. METHODS: Leukemia was successfully induced in Wister rats by intravenous injection (0.2 mL) of a benzene solution every 2 days for 3 consecutive weeks. The aqueous solution of fungal metabolites (20 mg/mL) produced by submerged fermentation was orally administered (0.2 mL) before, during, and after leukemia induction. Leukemia burden was assessed by comparing the hematological parameters at baseline and after leukemia induction. The immunomodulatory potential of the metabolites was assessed by using a phagocytic assay (carbon clearance method). The ability to enhance leukopoiesis was assessed by using the total leukocyte count. RESULTS: Leukemia induction resulted in significant anemia indices and leukocytosis (P<0.05) in the experimental rats. Both metabolites equally enhanced leukopoiesis and demonstrated phagocytic actions; P. ostreatus activity was significantly higher than that of P. pulmonarius (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The metabolites exhibited profound antileukemic potential by suppressing leukemia and demonstrating immunotherapeutic activities on animals after oral administration in various experimental groups.
Administration, Oral ; Anemia ; Animals ; Annona ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Benzene ; Ethanol ; Fermentation ; Fungi ; Immunotherapy ; Injections, Intravenous ; Leukemia ; Leukocytes ; Leukocytosis ; Leukopoiesis ; Pleurotus ; Polysaccharides ; Rats ; Yeasts

BACKGROUND: Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels in different hemoglobin variants in Osogbo, Nigeria, were estimated using two principal methods of estimation using existing information for HbF concentration and distribution of various hemoglobin variants in the area, as well as diagnosed cases of thalassemia. Two hundred and sixty samples collected from HbSS, HbSC, HbAA, HbAS, and HbAC subjects were analyzed. HbF level and hemoglobin type were determined in this study. METHODS: The hemoglobin type was determined using cellulose acetate electrophoresis at an alka-line pH, and HbF was determined by the acid elution and alkaline denaturation methods. RESULTS: The mean+/-SD of HbF in the respective hemoglobin variants was as follows: HbSS, 2.09+/-1.94%; HbSC, 0.85+/-0.54%; HbAA, 0.69+/-0.46%; HbAS, 0.52+/-0.31%; and HbAC, 0.57+/-0.26%. The mean HbF level across the hemoglobin variants was statistically significant (P<0.05). Investigating the sex distribution of the HbF level in the studied population revealed a slightly higher mean HbF level in females than in their male counterparts. CONCLUSION: Within the study population, the HbF level was found to be highest in HbSS and lowest in HbAS. The two methods of estimating HbF are equally reliable, since there was no significant difference between the results obtained from the two methods.
Cellulose ; Electrophoresis, Cellulose Acetate ; Female ; Fetal Hemoglobin ; Hemoglobin A ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Male ; Nigeria ; Sex Distribution ; Thalassemia