The Edible Mushroom Which Protects the Liver Against Early Stage (Hepatic Steatosis) of Fatty Liver Disease

Kyle J. Norton

Hepatic steatosis is a medical condition characterized by fat accumulation accompanied by a progressive inflammation of the liver.

The disease is considered as early stage of either alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Depending to the risk factors that cause fatty liver,

 * Obesity, high blood cholesterol including high triglycerides, diabetes, and certain medications, including methotrexate (Trexall), tamoxifen (Nolvadex), amiodorone (Pacerone), and valproic acid (Depakote) are associated non alcoholic fatty disease. And

* Alcohol fatty liver disease are associated to long term excessive alcohol drinking.

Prolonged untreated hepatic steatosis is also a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. 

Hepatic steatosis symptoms may include poor appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, physical weakness fatigue. However, patients in severe case  may experience symptoms of jaundice of the skin and eyes confusion,…. and abnormal bleeding if hepatic steatosis develops to its advance stage.

Mushroom is a standard name of white button mushroom, the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus produced above ground on soil or on its food source.

The edible mushroom is a genus A. Muscaria and belongings to the family Amanitaceae and cultivated in many cultures all over the world for foods and health benefits.

Chemical constituents of button mushroom include astraodorol, psilocybin, lectin, adustin, ribonuclease, nicotine, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-6-methylbenzoic acid, orsellinic acid, melleolide, ergosterol, genistein, daidzein, daucosterol, genistin, uracil and D-mannitol(a).

Cholesterol is needed for our body to build cell walls, make hormones and vitamin D, and create bile salts that help you digest fat.

However too much of it can be dangerous because cholesterol cannot dissolve in your blood. The special particle called lipoprotein moves this waxy, soft substance from place to place.

In ovariectomized (OVX) mice (a model of postmenopausal women) induced hepatic steatosis by high fat diet supplemented with WBM powder, researchers found that(1)

* Dietary WBM intake in tested mice significantly lowers liver weight and hepatic injury markers.

* Treated mice also shows less fat accumulation in the livers, according to liver tissue analysis.

* More importantly, treatment mice exerts a significant improvement of glucose clearance ability. 

Glucose clearance ability is correlated with measures of insulin sensitivity and acute insulin response to glucose, in compared to normal range of hepatic extraction of 25.8% [32.7%], and extrahepatic insulin clearance of 20.7 mL/kg/min [11.7 mL/kg/min])(2).

Further analysis of microarray analysis also revealed that genes related to the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, including the genes for fatty acid synthetase (Fas) and fatty acid elongase 6 (Elovl6), the enzymes which are responsible for lipogenesis (the metabolic formation of fat)(1) found to decrease in the liver of mushroom-fed mice.
Moreover, in a vitro mechanistic studies using the HepG2 cell line, scientists explained, the efficacy in reduced expression of FAS and ELOVL6 in liver fat formation was attributed to button mushroom property in inhibition of liver X receptor (LXR)(1) signaling in activated and promoted above genes.

Dr. Kanaya N, the lead author, after taking into account of other co and confounders said, “WBM is protective against hepatic steatosis and NAFLD in OVX mice as a model for postmenopausal women”.

Taking altogether, button mushroom may be considered as function food in protection of liver against onset of hepatic steatosis, the early stage of fat liver diseases.

However, further data collection on large example size and multi centers studies performed with human consumption of the whole food of button mushroom during the course of the disease will be necessary to complete the picture of anti fatty liver possibilities. 

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal – The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Loose Weight

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)

Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(a) [Chemical constituents from fungus Armillaria mellea]. by [Article in Chinese] by Yuan XL1, Yan LH, Zhang QW, Wang ZM.(PubMed)
(1) Protective effects of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) against hepatic steatosis in ovariectomized mice as a model of postmenopausal women by Kanaya N1, Kubo M, Liu Z, Chu P, Wang C, Yuan YC, Chen S.(PubMed)
(2) Hepatic and Extrahepatic Insulin Clearance Are Differentially Regulated: Results From a Novel Model-Based Analysis of Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Data by David C. Polidori,1 Richard N. Bergman,2 Stephanie T. Chung,3 and Anne E. Sumner(PMC)