Study confirms the medicinal potential of gargal in protecting heart health

Researchers from the Mie University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have found that gargal (Grifola gargal), can improve symptoms of atherosclerosis. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Food, investigated that anti-atherogenic potential of gargal mushrooms in vivo.

• ApoE lipoprotein-deficient mice were treated with angiotensin II to induce atherosclerosis.
• The team then prepared a Grifola gargal extract (GGE), which was injected in the peritoneum of the mice.
• Mice treated were GGE had improved their biomarkers for atherosclerosis, based on reductions on the heart and vessels, dilatation/atheroma formation of the thoracic and abdominal aorta, the percentage of peripheral granulocytes, and the blood concentration of MCP-1/CCL2.
• Conversely, regulatory T cell percentage and SDF-1/CXCL12 concentrations increased following GGE treatment, as well as the secretion of SDF-1/CXCL12, VEGF, and TGF-?1 from fibroblasts.

According to the authors of the study, this study is the first of its kind to establish a positive link between GGE treatment and atherosclerosis.

Learn more about atherosclerosis at Heart.news.

Journal Reference:

Harada E, Dalessandro-Gabazza CN, Toda M, Morizono T, Chelakkot-Govindalayathil AL, Roeen Z, Urawa M, Yasuma T, Yano Y, Sumiya T, et al. AMELIORATION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS BY THE NEW MEDICINAL MUSHROOM GRIFOLA GARGAL SINGER. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2015;18(8):872–881. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2014.3315