Cold water extract of Tiger Milk Mushroom and its fractions protect against UVB-induced toxicity in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Tiger Milk Mushroom or Lignosus rhinocerus (Cooke) Ryvarden (LR) found in Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Thailand is an edible mushroom known and studied for its various ethnobotanical and pharmacological properties. Cold water extract of L. rhinocerus (CLR) was found to be rich in antioxidants as well as to enhance stress resistance and extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans in a recent study [1], though its effect on Ultraviolet-B (UVB) induced oxidative stress and photoaging have not yet been explored. UVB exposure on normal human skin induces oxidative stress and DNA damage, leading to several complications such as erythema, sunburn, photoaging and skin cancer. Hence, it is imperative to prevent or reduce the effect of UVB exposure. The present study focuses on the protective effects of CLR and its high, medium, and low molecular weight (HLR, MLR, and LLR, respectively) fractions against UVB (60 J/M²)-induced toxicity in vivo using C. elegans. After pre-treatment with 50 µg/mL of CLR extract, lifespan of C. elegans was found to be significantly increased compared to untreated group. The effect corresponded with the increase in the expression of antioxidant genes and decrease in apoptosis-related genes. Interestingly, only HLR and MLR (50 and 100 µg/mL, respectively) showed protection against UVB. These results suggests that the cold-water extract of LR could protect C. elegans against UVB induced damage. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory and anti-photoaging properties shown by LR are worth investigating for developing innovative skin care products to protect the skin against deleterious effect of UV exposure.

• Reference

• 1 Kittimongkolsuk P, Roxo M, Li H. et al. Extracts of the Tiger Milk Mushroom (Lignosus rhinocerus) enhance stress resistance and extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans via the DAF-16/FoxO signaling pathway. Pharmaceuticals 2021; 14: 93

Publication History

Article published online:
12 December 2022