Paraprobiotics from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and fungal β-glucan from Lignosus rhinocerus synergistically enhance macrophage activation in vitro

This study evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of paraprobiotics from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum TSUB-17 and β-glucan extracted from Lignosus rhinocerus mycelium using RAW 264.7 macrophages. β-glucan was produced under optimized conditions (31.5 °C, 13.5% potato powder, 13% glucose), yielding 44.7 g/L biomass with 33.60% β-glucan. NMR and FESEM confirmed its structural similarity to commercial β-glucan. β-glucan significantly reduced nitric oxide (NO) levels and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) while increasing anti-inflammatory markers IL-10 and TGF-β. Paraprobiotics strongly induced TNF-α and IL-6 but had limited anti-inflammatory effects. Co-treatment resulted in moderated proinflammatory and enhanced anti-inflammatory responses, with a synergistic increase in TGF-β. This is the first report of the synergistic immunomodulatory interaction between sonicated paraprobiotics and L. rhinocerus β-glucan. The results suggest potential applications in functional foods or therapeutic formulations to modulate inflammation and promote immune balance.