Medicinal Mushroom Leucocalocybe mongolica Imai Extracts Improve Mammary Gland Differentiation in Lactating Rats via Regulating Protein Expression

Asmaa Hussein Zaki; Bao Haiying; Li Zhijun

doi:10.1155/2022/5762847

Medicinal Mushroom Leucocalocybe mongolica Imai Extracts Improve Mammary Gland Differentiation in Lactating Rats via Regulating Protein Expression

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Jun 18:2022:5762847. doi: 10.1155/2022/5762847. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Asmaa Hussein Zaki^{1

2

3}, Bao Haiying^{1

2}, Li Zhijun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Edible Fungi Resources and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China.
² College of Chinese Medicine Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, Jilin, China.
³ Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, Minya 61111, Egypt.

Abstract

Leucocalocybe mongolica is a known medicinal mushroom in China. It possesses many biological activities. This study investigated the effect of L. mongolica petroleum ether and water extracts (200, 500, and 1,000 mg/kg BW) on mammary gland differentiation during lactation. However, prolactin, growth hormone, progesterone, and estrogen levels were determined in serum by ELISA assay. Immunofluorescence, western blot, and real-time PCR were utilized to evaluate the expression levels of β-casein, α-Lactalbumin, prolactin receptor, progesterone receptor, and STAT-5a. The immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect the presence of steroid receptors. The results showed that petroleum ether and water extracts increased milk yield and milk content of calcium, total fat, total carbohydrate, and total protein. Prolactin and growth hormone levels were significantly upregulated in all treated groups compared with the control group. In contrast, progesterone and estrogen were downregulated. The high doses of petroleum ether and water extracts increased the expression levels of β-Cas, α-Lactalb, PRLR, PR, and STAT-5a. The observation of histological sections showed that the extracts induced higher mammary gland differentiation than the control group. This study is the first to use mushrooms as nutritional supplements to improve milk production and mammary gland differentiation during lactation.