Preclinical Evaluation of Lentinan in Animal Models

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Abstract
Lentinan obtained from the fruit-body of Lentinus edodes, the most popular edible mushroom in Japan, is a fully purified β-1,6;β-1,3-D-glucan, and its physicochemical properties are strictly characterized (1-3). This polysaccharide has prominent antitumor activity in syngeneic and even autologous hosts, and its immunopharmacological characteristics are well defined as T-cell oriented immunopotentiators different from the well-known immunostimulants such as BCG, C. parvum, LPS or levamisole. Lentinan appears to represent an unique class of immunological adjuvant and has only little toxic side effects. Therefore, lentinan is worth considering as one of the most useful immunopotentiators for cancer patients, and this article concerns preclinical evaluation of lentinan in experimental and animal models for cancer immunotherapy in humans.