The effects of the king oyster mushroom Pleurotus eryngii (higher Basidiomycetes) on glycemic control in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Pleurotus eryngii on glycemic metabolism. Alloxan-induced hyperglycemic mice were used to study the effects of P. eryngii on blood glucose, glycohemoglobin, insulin secretion, damaged pancreatic β-cells, total antioxidant status (TAOS), and hepatic glycogen in hyperglycemic mice. Sixty diabetic mice were divided equally into 5 groups: the alloxan (AX)-induced hyperglycemic group, the AX and glibenclamide (GLI)-treated group, the AX and P. eryngii extracts (PEEs) 50-treated group (PEE 50 mg/kg), the AX and PEE100-treated group (PEE 100 mg/kg), and the AX and PEE200-treated group (PEE 200 mg/kg). The other 12 normal mice were injected intravenously with the normal saline and used as the control group. After PEE (100 and 200 mg/kg) was orally administered to the mice over 5 weeks, blood glucose and HbAlc were significantly decreased in AX-induced hyperglycemic mice (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), whereas the level of insulin secretion was markedly elevated in (P < 0.05). The pancreatic β-cells damaged by AX partially and gradually recovered after PPE extract was administered to the hyperglycemic mice for 35 days. In addition, PEE treatment gradually increased the body weight and significantly increased the concentration of hepatic glycogen in hyperglycemic mice (P < 0.05). The results suggest that the action of PPE on glycemic metabolism occurs via increasing glycogen and insulin concentrations as well as recovering injured β-cells and reducing free radical damage. PPE may become a new potential hypoglycemic food for hyperglycemic people.