To examine the role of oral Ganoderma spore oil in cardiovascular disease, we used transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in mice to model pressure overload-induced cardiomyopathy. Our preliminary results demonstrated a potential cardioprotective role for spore oil extracted from Ganoderma. We found that Ganoderma treatment normalized ejection fraction and corrected the fractional shortening generated by TAC. We also found evidence of reduced left ventricular hypertrophy as assessed by left ventricular end diastolic diameter. Analysis of total RNA expression using cardiac tissue samples from these mice corroborated our findings. We found reduced expression of genes associated with heart failure, including a novel circular RNA circ-Foxo3. Thus our data provides evidence for Ganoderma lucidum as a potential cardioprotective agent, warranting further preclinical exploration.
Keywords: Ganoderma lucidum; anti-cancer; circular RNA; heart function; herbal medicine.