Research Article Polysaccharides-Rich Extract of Ganoderma lucidum (M.A. Curtis:Fr.) P. Karst Accelerates Wound Healing in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Copyright © 2013 Poh-Guat Cheng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Ganoderma lucidum (M.A. Curtis:Fr.) P. Karst is a popular medicinal mushroom. Scientific reports had shown that the wound healing effects ofG. lucidumwere partly attributed to its rich polysaccharides. However, little attention has been paid to its potential effects onwounds associated with diabetesmellitus. In this study, we evaluated the wound healing activity of the hot aqueous extract ofG. lucidum in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.The extract ofG. lucidumwas standardised based on chemical contents (w/w) of total polysaccharides (25.1%), ganoderic acid A (0.45%), and adenosine (0.069%). Six groups of six rats were experimentally wounded in the posterior neck region. Intrasite gel was used as a positive control and aqueous cream as the placebo. Topical application with 10 % (w/w) of mushroom extract-incorporated aqueous cream was more effective than that with Intrasite gel in terms of wound closure.The antioxidant activity in serumof rats treatedwith aqueous extract ofG. lucidumwas significantly higher; whereas the oxidative protein products and lipid damagewere lowerwhen compared to those of the controls.These findings strongly support the beneficial effects of standardised aqueous extract ofG. lucidum in acceleratingwoundhealing in streptozotocin-induce