Abstract
The effects of various kinds of mushroom on plasma cholesterol level in rats were investigated with the aim of finding mushrooms from which plasma cholesterol-lowering compounds could be obtained. Each mushroom was added at a level of 5% to a 25% casein diet containing 1% cholesterol and 0.25% sodium cholate. of eleven kinds of mushroom tested, seven had a plasma cholesterol-lowering effect. In addition to shiitake (Leninus edodes), which has been shown to possess a potent plasma cholesterollowering effect, ningyotake (Polyporus confluens) was also found to have an equally potent effect. The ningyotake mushroom, unlike shiitake, did not centain eritadenine or evoke fatty liver. Feeding of ningyotake significantly increased the fecal excretion of cholesterol and bile acids, whereas shiitake did not enhance fecal steroid excretion. The enhancement of fecal steroid excretion was considered to participate, at least in part, to the plasma cholesterol-lowering effect of ningyotake. These results suggest that the ningyotake mushroom is useful for reduction of plasma cholesterol.
