The Bioactive Compounds in Medicinal Mushrooms have Potential Protective Effects against Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

The Comprehensive and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to treat Neurodegenerative Diseases (NDs) has attracted attention from healthcare professionals and scientific researchers recently. Although in its early research stage, a good number of studies have been performed to investigate the potential preventive or even therapeutic effects of some medicinal mushrooms on NDs. We reviewed recent scientific publications reporting the extraction and identification of the bioactive compounds in medicinal mushrooms commonly used in Asian countries for their potential protective effects against NDs. Five medicinal mushrooms - Hericium erinaceus, Termitomyces albuminosus, Ganoderma lucidum, Dictyophora indusiata, Mycoleptodonoides aitchisonii- have been covered in this review. In vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies have been conducted to confirm the potential protective effects of these compounds against neurodegenerative diseases. Because of the limited research, no clear mechanisms of the preventive actions can be proposed. More animal and human studies are needed in the future to confirm the anti-neurodegenerative effects and understand the mechanism of the protective action of these bioactive compounds.