Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is a highly nutritious edible fungus rich in proteins, fibers, minerals, vitamins, chitin, and polyphenols. In addition to its nutritional value, various physiological activities of P. ostreatus have been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects of P. ostreatus fermented with Pediococcus pentosaceus KCTC18860P. The biological activities of both non-fermented and fermented P. ostreatus were assessed through measurements of antioxidant capacity (total phenolic and flavonoid content), cell viability, nitric oxide (NO) production, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and PGE2), as well as β-hexosaminidase and histamine release. The fermentation product contained 11.55±0.18 mg/g of total phenolics and 2.02±0.11 mg/g of total flavonoids. It showed no cytotoxicity and significantly suppressed NO and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Furthermore, in antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 mast cells, fermented product (FBO) treatment reduced degranulation and inflammatory cytokine secretion in a concentration-dependent fashion. These findings suggest that P. ostreatus fermented with P. pentosaceus has potential for the development of anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic functional materials.
Kim et al. (Wed,) studied this question.