Investigation of dietary supplementation with Tricholoma matsutake on immunoregulation: The underlying direct mechanism

Abstract

Tricholoma matsutake is an edible fungus rich in bioactive compounds, while the immunoactive properties of functional components remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of incorporating Tricholoma matsutake or its equivalent amount of bioactive components into the daily diet, analyzed the dominant factor that play the regulating role and the main regulation paths. The findings revealed that although Tricholoma matsutake polysaccharide (TPS) demonstrated better DPPH and ·OH clearance activity in vitro experiments, due to its lower content in Tricholoma matsutake, water extract (TWE) showed better protection of immune organs by increasing splenic T lymphocytes and the number of thymic corpuscles, also enhanced nonspecific and specific immunity in vivo. Specifically, TWE increased the phagocytic index to 4.13 ± 0.09, enhanced splenic lymphocyte proliferation to 1.84 ± 0.16, elevated the delayed-type hypersensitivity response to 0.61 ± 0.02 mm, also raised serum hemolysin levels to 15.27 ± 0.06. Furthermore, TWE elevated immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels in mouse serum with the extension of oral administration time. Additionally, the principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis revealed that TWE is the primary immunoactive component of Tricholoma matsutake that regulates immune function, and that increasing IgG and IgM levels may represent a direct mechanism for enhancing immune function. Generally, TWE is a superior immune active factor that holds the potential as an immunomodulator, and the discovery of this article also revealed the pathways and nutritional functions of adding Tricholoma matsutake into daily dietary consumption to exert immunomodulatory effects.