The antioxidant and antitumor properties of natural products, often recognized in traditional medicine systems, represent therapeutic modalities to reduce or prevent uncontrolled oxidation processes which in turn potentially ameliorate or tumor based symptoms of chronic diseases. We have studied the antioxidant and antitumor effects of Amanita muscaria (A. muscaria) in vitro and examined whether the A. muscaria has synergistic effects on antioxidant and antitumor properties. Although A. muscaria induced a dose-dependent increase in antioxidant activity, the latter has a consistently higher antioxidant effect. In mouse monocytes, the lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced tumor necrosis- (TNF-) synthesis was significantly inhibited by A. muscaria in a dose dependent manner and synergistic effects were clearly demonstrated with the A. muscaria on TNF- inhibition. A. muscaria effect was also evident on inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B activity, cyclooxygenase-II activity, and lipid peroxidation in mouse monocytes. This presented results may be a starting point for a comprehensive characterization of biological effects of A. muscaria.

• Ji Yeon Lee(Department of Industrial Plant Science and Technology, Chungbuk National University)
• Young Ock Kim(Ginseng Research Division, National Institute of Horticulture & Herbal Science, Rural Administration)
• Eun Suk Lee(Ginseng Research Division, National Institute of Horticulture & Herbal Science, Rural Administration)
• Sang Won Lee(Ginseng Research Division, National Institute of Horticulture & Herbal Science, Rural Administration)
• Heung Bin Lim(Department of Industrial Plant Science and Technology, Chungbuk National University)
• Kang-Hyo Lee(Mushroom Research Division, National Institute of Horticulture & Herbal Science, Rural Administration)