Current and future perspective on antimicrobial and anti-parasitic activities of Ganoderma sp.: an update

Abstract

Medicinal mushroom Ganoderma sp. is considered to be a key source for the production of therapeutic agents. Our current review indicates that a limited number (<19%; 79 out of >430) of isolated compounds have been tested and known to be active against several microorganisms and parasites. In this review, we aim to summarise all the antimicrobial and anti-parasitic works on Ganoderma sp. displayed on web of science, google scholar and endnote X7 from 1932 to August 2016. We further present and discuss the structure of active compounds against microorganisms and parasites. In addition, we also discuss the possible further research to identify lead compounds from Ganoderma sp. as a novel strategy to combat the potential global emergence of bad bugs and parasites.