Novel antimutagenic factors derived from the edible mushroom Agrocybe cylindracea

Studies have shown that certain foods contain compounds with antigenotoxic activities. Here, we ask if dried powders and/or extracts from three edible mushrooms, Agrocybe cylindracea, Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus ostreatus, have a mitigating effect on genotoxicity. We used two in vivo assays: the Drosophila DNA repair test and the Drosophila wing spot test (also known as SMART) which measures somatic mutation and recombination. Eight carcinogens were tested with the mushroom powders: 2-AAF, aflatoxin B1, DMBA, IQ, MeIQx, MNU NDMA, and 4NQO. We found that A. cylindracea and P. ostreatus powders can suppress DNA damage induced by each of the mutagens we tested. In contrast, L. edodes has an inhibitory effect on DNA damage induced by only a sub-set of mutagens, namely aflatoxin B1, NDMA, MNU and 4NQO. In addition, A. cylindracea extracts were able to suppress somatic cell mutation induced by aflatoxin B1, MMC, MNU, NDMA, NMOR and 4NQO. These results suggest that Agrocybe genus mushrooms contain factors with antigenotoxic activity, including anti-recombinogenic activity. Furthermore, the antigenotoxic activity of A. cylindracea powder can be extracted in water but not in ethyl acetate or methanol, and is sensitive to heat treatment. The data suggest that there is a novel antigenotoxic factor(s) in A. cylindracea, possibly in the form of a peptide or protein.