Hypolipidemic, Antioxidant, and Antiapoptotic Effects of Polysaccharides Extracted from Reishi Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Leysser: Fr) Karst, in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

The mechanisms underlying the effect of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) polysaccharides (GLP) on obesity are not clear. In this study, GLP were found to attenuate the oleic acid-induced cell viability loss and apoptosis dose dependently in splenic lymphocytes in vitro. The effects of GLP on lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in mice fed a high-fat diet (HD) were determined. GLP administration (200 and 400 mg/kg bw) significantly lowered the body-weight increases; liver, heart, and white adipose tissues indexes; serum lipid accumulation; and serum and small intestine oxidative stress in mice fed a HD. Moreover, GLP inhibited HD-induced apoptosis by decreasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and suppressing caspase-3 activation in splenic lymphocytes. These findings indicate that GLP can exert hypolipidemic, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects in HD-induced obese mice.