Selected strains of the Ganoderma lucidum complex from Finnish forests have excellent broadly acting antiviral properties.

Publication date: Jul 02, 2025

Broadly acting antivirals are needed to complement vaccines in present and future pandemics and outbreaks as safe and sustainable tools for combating virus infections. Thus, the current study aims to investigate the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of ferments of selected strains belonging to the Ganoderma lucidum complex isolated from Finland and investigate their mechanism of action. Cytopathic effect inhibition assay and endpoint assay were used to determine the antiviral activity. The antibacterial activity ws examined using recombinant biosensor strains. Mechanism of action studies included time of addition assay, transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, sucrose gradient separation assay, and thermal assay. The metabolite composition of the ferments was studied using UHPLC-HR-MS/MS. Ferments showed antiviral efficacy against non-enveloped enteroviruses, already at room temperature and within one minute. Broad antimicrobial activity was demonstrated with non-enveloped rotaviruses, enveloped coronaviruses, zika viruses, and gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Ferments also directly affected the viruses and caused clustering of the virus particles. Additionally, treatment of enteroviruses with ferments caused strong stabilization of the virus capsid, thus preventing their genome release. UHPLC-HR-MS/MS analysis of the ferments verified the presence of several terpenoid compounds. The results show great promise for the future use of ferments from the Ganoderma lucidum complex in combating microbial infections for various applications.

Open Access PDF

Concepts Keywords
Antibacterial Antimicrobial
Coronaviruses Antiviral Agents
Finnish Antiviral Agents
Forests Broad-spectrum
Sustainable Coronaviruses
Enteroviruses
Finland
Ganoderma sp. ferment
Reishi
Stabilization
Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH virus infections
disease IDO assay
drug DRUGBANK Sucrose
drug DRUGBANK Flunarizine
disease IDO bacteria
pathway REACTOME Release
disease MESH infections
disease MESH influenza
disease MESH Middle east respiratory syndrome
disease MESH meningitis
disease MESH pancreatitis
disease MESH myocarditis
disease MESH chronic infections
disease MESH asthma
pathway KEGG Asthma
disease IDO process
drug DRUGBANK Coenzyme M
disease IDO host
disease MESH mutation rate
disease MESH viral load
disease IDO production
disease IDO infection
disease IDO replication
drug DRUGBANK Pentaerythritol tetranitrate

Original Article

(Visited 2 times, 1 visits today)