INTRODUCTION:
Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum), commonly referred to as Lingzhi in China, is a fungus which has been widely used through the centuries for the general promotion of health and longevity in Asian countries. It has been known to have numerous pharmacological effects including immuno-modulating, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidative and radical-scavenging, and anti-aging effects [1].
Most mushrooms are 90% water by weight. For G. lucidum, the remaining 10% consists of 26–28% carbohydrate, 3–5% crude fat, 59% crude fibre, and 7–8% crude protein [2]. In addition, G. lucidum contains a wide variety of bioactive constituents such as terpenoids, steroids, phenols, glycoproteins, and polysaccharides [3, 4]. Numerous authors have shown that triterpenes and polysaccharides are the major physiologically active components of G. lucidum [3, 4].
In this review, we focused on the various bioactive pathways thought to be associated with the anti-cancer activities of G. lucidum, in particular, the two main active ingredients: triterpenes and polysaccharides.