Telomerase inhibitory effects of medicinal mushrooms and lichens, and their anticancer activity.

Telomerase has been widely accepted as a cancer marker and a promising therapeutic target for novel anticancer drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro telomerase inhibitory effects of mushrooms and their anticancer properties. The inhibitory effects of mushrooms and lichens against telomerase activity of HL-60 cells were systematically assessed using polymerase chain reaction based on assay of telomeric repeat amplification protocol. Telomerase inhibitory samples were further tested for antiproliferation effects against the gastric cell line SNU-1 using the MTT method. Ethyl acetate extract of Pleurotus ostreatus, ethyl acetate and water extracts of Lasiosphaera fenzlii, hexane extract of Strobilomyces floccopus, water extract of Sarcodon aspratus, and hexane, ethyl acetate, and water extracts from Umbilicaria esculenta showed strong positive telomerase inhibitory activity. Hexane extract of S. floccopus and water extracts from the edible lichen U. esculenta exhibited strong anticancer effects against SNU-1 cells through antiproliferation assay. The water extract of U. esculenta has a great potential to be developed into an anticancer agent that targets telomerase.