Processing of medicinal plants and mushrooms plays a crucial role in oriental medicine. This study investigated the antioxidant potency and chemical composition of antler-shaped Ganoderma lucidumprocessed under different heating temperatures (120 to 180 °C) and times (10 to 20 minutes). Processed samples were analyzed for their antioxidant activities, including total phenol content, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging capacity, NO assay, ROS scavenging capacity, and chemical composition changes. Antioxidant potency was highest with processing at 180 °C for 10 min and at 210 °C for 10 min. This enhanced activity is likely attributed to changes in compound functional groups due to heat processing, which in turn influences antioxidant activity. In contrast to antioxidant potency, chemical components, including ganoderic acid D, ganodermanonitriol, and ergosterol, showed decreasing trends with increasing temperature and time.

High-income mushroom crops require complex farming. Therefore, we conducted a test to identify the optimum temperature for the production of antler-shaped Ganoderma lucidum using the King Oyster mushroom cultivation facility. T-N showed 0.28% of oak sawdust and 2.2% of nutritional source. The pH of oak sawdust was 6.0, indicating weak acidity, and that of rice steel was 6.6, indicating neutrality in nutrition source. Study on the quality characteristics of mushrooms showed that the number of days at 25°C were 5~6 and those at 30°C were 3~5; the representative length at 25°C was 57.5 mm and that at 30°C was 92.2 mm; the biological weight at 25 °C was 43 g, which was greater than that at 30°C.

Ganoderma lucidum has been reported to have various biological activities including antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to compare the antioxidant effects between Ganoderma lucidum (GL) and antler-shaped fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum (AGL). In vitro antioxidant activities were examined by 2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) and 1,2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities of GL and AGL ethanol extracts. In the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities of GL and AGL ethanol extracts, antioxidant activities of AGL extracts (IC50, 66.94 μg/ml and 131.23 μg/ml) was showed higher than GL extracts (IC50, 83.93 μg/ml and 164.54 μg/ml). Total polyphenol content and total flavonoid content (38.00 g GAE/kg extract and 11.58 g NE/kg extract) of AGL were found higher as compared to GL (34.23 g GAE/kg extract and 3.46 g NE/kg extract). In summary, the results of this study demonstrate that AGL extracts had higher antioxidant activities to GL.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not the antler-shaped fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum (GL) has an anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage-like cells. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of GL, we examined the inflammatory mediators such as the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), activator protein 1 (AP-1), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). LPS/IFN-γ-induced cellular NO production was significantly decreased in GL-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, Western blotting analysis results demonstrated that reduced protein expression of MAPK families (such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase, and p38 MAPK) and AP-1-targeting inflammatory enzymes (iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, and IL-6). These results indicated that GL modulates the MAPK/AP-1 signal pathway in inflammatory process. In conclusion, the present study provides important evidence that GL can potentially be used to reduce LPS/IFN-γ-induced inflammatory response by inhibiting the MAPK/AP-1 signaling pathways.