Mushrooms are known to complement chemotherapy and radiation therapy by countering
the side effects of cancer. Recently, there has been great interest in isolation of novel bioactive
compounds from mushrooms due to their numerous health beneficial effects. Chemically
water-extractable polysaccharide (MFKF-AP1b), with a molecular weight of 12 kDa, was isolated
from fruiting bodies of mushroom Fomes fomentarius. In this research, we investigated the
anti-tumor effects of MFKF-AP1b on human lung carcinoma A549 cells. Results showed that
MFKF-AP1b markedly inhibited A549 cell growth in a dose-dependent manner based on the
amount of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released and morphological alterations. In addition,
MFKF-AP1b induced cellular apoptosis by causing single-stranded DNA breakage, as evidenced
by apoptosis assay