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Known phenolic small molecules and polymers of chaga and their purification/identification

Known phenolic small molecules and polymers of chaga and their purification/identification

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Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is an edible herbal mushroom extensively distributed in the temperate to frigid regions of the Northern hemisphere, especially the Baltic and Siberian areas. Chaga parasites itself on the trunk of various angiosperms, especially birch tree, for decades and grows to be a shapeless black mass. The medicinal/nutraceutical use...

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... small-molecule phenolics could be classified according to the number of carbons on their skeleton cores, such as simple phenolics (C6), phenolic acids (C6-C1, C6-C2, C6-C3), coumarins (C6-C3), naphthoquinones (C6-C4), xanthones (C6-C1-C6), stilbenes and anthraquinones (C6-C2-C6), chalconoids and flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), and lignans (C6-C3) 2 (Vermerris and Nicholson, 2008). As summarized in Table 4, there are a total of 64 small-molecule phenolics in chaga. Along with several small-molecules, common phenolics such as coumarins, phenolic acids, and flavonoids, a rare phenolic group, namely styrylpyrones (C6-C2-C5), was also reported in chaga. ...

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... It typically parasitizes trees such as birch and silver birch (He et al. 2020). Pharmacological studies have confirmed that I. obliquus exhibits significant effects in anti-tumor, anti-infection, diabetes treatment and immune-boosting activities (Peng and Shahidi 2020;Ye et al. 2023;Lu et al. 2021;Wang et al. 2023;Wold et al. 2020;Chen et al. 2019). Currently, there is substantial research on the triterpenoids of I. obliquus. ...
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Inonotus obliquus (Chaga mushroom) is a large medicinal and edible fungus that contains a wealth of bioactive terpenoids. However, the detection of certain low-abundance sesquiterpenoids remains a challenge due to limitations in extraction and analytical techniques. Furthermore, the synthase genes responsible for the biosynthesis of the identified terpenoids have not yet been clearly elucidated. To address this, our study combined transcriptome mining with yeast heterologous expression to investigate the synthase genes involved in sesquiterpenoid production in I. obliquus. We successfully identified eight sesquiterpene synthase genes and one farnesyltransferase. Among these, only cis-β-farnesene, synthesized by IoTPS2, had been previously detected before in the sclerotium of I. obliquus, while the other nine sesquiterpenoids—including neoisolongifolene-8-ol, β-longipinene, vetiselinenol, isolongifolene, 7,8-dehydro-8a-hydroxy-, 4a,8b,10b,11a-tetramethylbicyclo[6.3.0]undec-1-en-5-one, 6,11-oxido-acor-4-ene, β-maaliene, neointermedeol, and longifolenaldehyde—were discovered for the first time. This research provides a critical scientific foundation for expanding the known repertoire of sesquiterpenoids and their corresponding synthase genes in I. obliquus.
... Pilát (chaga), which is a widespread tree parasite in deciduous trees, notably birches (Betula), across the Northern Hemisphere (Lee et al., 2008). It causes white heart-rot in living trees, and also produces sterile, black conks on trunks, known for their medicinal uses (Peng and Shahidi, 2020). Conks generally appear on trees over 30 years old, with a rapid increase in prevalence within stands aged between 50-80 years (Balandaykin and Zmitrovich, 2015). ...
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... A quick survey of the chaga-based products available at local farmers' markets and on various websites suggests that a lot of interest has recently been focused on the commercialization of chaga as a dietary health supplement for the management of several chronic diseases. The scientific support for such claims is inconsistent, and there are few reports that investigate the extraction procedures used in the literature [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]. Current procedures vary in terms of the extraction solvents (aqueous and organic solvents of different polarity), temperature (from room temperature, RT to 100 • C), and duration of extraction (from 30 min to 2 d) used (Table 2). ...
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... Attributed by its global anecdotal evidence of medicinal proper-Peng et al. Qualitative analysis of secondary metabolites of chaga mushroom ties, chaga has been used as a functional beverage (tea) or folk medicine (decoction, ointment) for the treatment of stomach diseases, intestinal worms, liver/heart ailments, dermatomycoses, joint pain, and different types of cancer in the East European countries for centuries (Babitskaya et al., 2002;Koyama, 2017;Lemieszek et al., 2011;Peng and Shahidi, 2020;Saar, 1991;Shashkina et al., 2006;Shikov et al., 2014). To date, numerous studies have claimed various bioactivities, together with related biomolecular mechanism of chaga, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, hypoglycemic, antilipidemic, anti-inflammation, abirritative, immunoregulatory, and cardioprotective effects (Koyama et al., 2008;Patel, 2015;Peng and Shahidi, 2020;Shashkina et al., 2006;Zhong et al., 2009). ...
... Qualitative analysis of secondary metabolites of chaga mushroom ties, chaga has been used as a functional beverage (tea) or folk medicine (decoction, ointment) for the treatment of stomach diseases, intestinal worms, liver/heart ailments, dermatomycoses, joint pain, and different types of cancer in the East European countries for centuries (Babitskaya et al., 2002;Koyama, 2017;Lemieszek et al., 2011;Peng and Shahidi, 2020;Saar, 1991;Shashkina et al., 2006;Shikov et al., 2014). To date, numerous studies have claimed various bioactivities, together with related biomolecular mechanism of chaga, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, hypoglycemic, antilipidemic, anti-inflammation, abirritative, immunoregulatory, and cardioprotective effects (Koyama et al., 2008;Patel, 2015;Peng and Shahidi, 2020;Shashkina et al., 2006;Zhong et al., 2009). Such a broad spectrum of biological/pharmacological functions implies the complexity of bioactive substances in chaga, although related clinical data are relatively scarce. ...
... To achieve a comparable compositional profile of the artificial culture of chaga mycelia, various physiochemical stimulus have been applied to mimic growth environments which efficiently manipulates the production of chaga secondary metabolites (Zheng et al., 2010). More information on compositional and proportional difference, and the production monitoring of secondary metabolites of chaga is found in a recent review, in which around 220 compounds including 108 terpenoids, 64 small-molecule phenolics, 10 alkaloids, 17 amino acids, and various bioactive polymers such as polysaccharidesprotein complex and allomelanins were summarized (Peng and Shahidi, 2020). In combination with newly updated 21 phenolics and 10 terpenoids from 2021 to 2022, it provides the database for the current study of primary compositional characterization of wild chaga harvested in Newfoundland (Abu-Reidah et al., 2021;Chang et al., 2022;Kou et al., 2021). ...
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Chaga mushroom is a black perennial fungus that usually parasites on adult birch tree trunks. It has been conventionally used as a health-promoting supplement and nutraceutical in different cultures for centuries. The desired clarification of the profile of chaga secondary metabolites responsible for various bioactive properties has been continuously pursued for decades but has only partially been unveiled. Meanwhile, in recent years, attention to food safety, quality stability, authentication, and sustainability of chaga products from the wild has become increasingly popular in the current commercial market and related small/medium-size food industry enterprises. Phenolic, hydroxylated fatty acid, and terpenoid compounds produced by sclerotia of chaga mushrooms are bioactive constituents with antioxidant, anti-microorganism, and anti-tumor activities. Some new secondary metabolites of chaga mushroom have occasionally been reported previously, and effects of environment (e.g., cultivation method, harvesting region) on compositional characteristics noted. However, these have rarely and systematically compared the compositions of their material with a reliable database of known secondary metabolites of chaga. Therefore, this study aimed to achieve a rapid screening and characterization of secondary metabolites of Newfoundland chaga. A total of 111 phenolic, 63 fatty/aromatic acid, and 108 terpenoid constituents was primarily identified using HPLC-ToF-MS (high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled with time-of-flight mass spectra), among which 161 were newly reported. In addition, an update of the compositional database of chaga was provided as supplementary materials to help utilization and development of Newfoundland chaga mushroom as edible-fungi. Conclusively, chaga mushroom is a very promising food supplement abundant in numerous fungal secondary metabolites that were rarely found in other edible materials, even though its safety (e.g., oxalate content) aspects is still in need of additional investigation for being considered as a viable commercial nutraceutical.
... The so-called, ultra-processed food (UPF) that may refer to products that do not follow these criteria are often associated with a myriad of diseases, but again here, caution must be exercised to avoid misuse of terminologies that may create misconception. Various nutraceutical and pharmaceutical potential, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, immunomodulatory, antimutagenic activity, anti-virus, analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-hyperuricemia activities/effects, as well as main bioactive compounds including phenolics, terpenoids, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and alkaloids of chaga mushroom have been thoroughly reviewed by Peng and Shahidi (2020), and tabulated using a total 171 original articles. Besides, the up-to-date toxicity concerns and risk assessment about the misuse of chaga, which limit its acceptance and use as medicinal/nutraceutical products, have also been clarified. ...
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