Acetyl eburicoic acid from laetiporus sulphureus var. miniatus suppresses inflammation in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells

The basidiomycete Laetiporus sulphureus var. miniatus belongs to the Aphyllophorales, Polyporaceae, and grows on the needleleaf tree. The fruiting bodies of Laetiporus species are known to produce N-methylated tyramine derivatives, polysaccharides, and various lanostane triterpenoids. As part of our ongoing effort to discover biologically active compounds from wood-rotting fungi, an anti-inflammatory triterpene, LSM-H7, has been isolated from the fruiting body of L. sulphureus var. miniatus and identified as acetyl eburicoic acid. LSM-H7 dose-dependently inhibited the NO production in RAW 264.7 cells without any cytotoxicity at the tested concentrations. Furthermore it suppressed the production of proinflammatory cytokines, mainly inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor a, when compared with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. These data suggest that LSM-H7 is a crucial component for the antiinflammatory activity of L. sulphureus var. miniatus.