Mushrooms are known to
complement chemotherapy and
radiation therapy by countering the side effects of
cancer. Recently, there has been great interest in isolation of novel bioactive compounds from mushrooms due to their numerous health beneficial effects. Chemically water-extractable
polysaccharide (MFKF-AP1β), with a molecular weight of 12 kDa, was isolated from fruiting bodies of mushroom Fomes fomentarius. In this research, we investigated the anti-
tumor effects of MFKF-AP1β on human lung
carcinoma A549 cells. Results showed that MFKF-AP1β markedly inhibited A549 cell growth in a dose-dependent manner based on the amount of
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released and morphological alterations. In addition, MFKF-AP1β induced cellular apoptosis by causing
single-stranded DNA breakage, as evidenced by apoptosis assay. Furthermore, MFKF-AP1β (25-100 μg/ml) significantly induced
single-stranded DNA breakage in A549 cells, as shown by comet assay. Taken together, our results demonstrate that MFKF-AP1β has strong anti-
tumor effects mediated through induction of apoptosis. Therefore, MFKF-AP1β could be useful in lung
chemotherapy.