10.6092/issn.2531-7342/14666
Various wild mushrooms have been appreciated as a source of food and medicines from centuries. Although wild mushrooms were formerly utilised on a modest scale, people now favour mushrooms as a source of nutritious or healthy food. Pharmaceutical scientists have discovered many therapeutic ingredients from these mushrooms. Since few decades researchers have confirmed the therapeutic implications of such mushrooms and similar under-utilized food. Phallus indusiatus Vent. is one of such mushrooms which well accepted by researchers as a source of bioactive compounds. It is synonymously known as Dictyophora indusiata (Vent.) Desv. It is also possible to evaluate the therapeutic roles of different bioactive compounds extracted from P. indusiatus. Most of them have great healthy benefits such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, immunomodulatory, organoprotective and anticancer effects. Due to the outstanding healthy benefits and therapeutic value various molecules from P. indusiatus have been studied in recent years.
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Pharmacological and therapeutic value of bamboo mushroom <em>Phallus indusiatus</em> (Agaricomycetes)
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Anup Kumar Sarkar
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Zidan NAA, Neameh HA (2014) A Review on Antitumor actions of polysaccharide isolated from medicinal mushrooms. International Journal of Academic Scientific Research 2(1):14–20.
Pharmacological and therapeutic value of bamboo mushroom <em>Phallus indusiatus</em> (Agaricomycetes)
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                IJM - Italian Journal of Mycology
                ISSN 2531-7342 - Vol. 51 (2022): 47-57
                Journal homepage: https://italianmycology.unibo.it/

Research article

    Pharmacological and therapeutic value of bamboo mushroom
              Phallus indusiatus (Agaricomycetes)

                   Mallika Mazumder1, Somnath Roy2, Anup Kumar Sarkar1
1 Department of Botany, Dukhulal Nibaran Chandra College, Aurangabad, Murshidabad, West Bengal, Pin-742201, India
2 Department of Botany, Malda College, Malda, West Bengal, Pin-732101, India

Corresponding author e-mail: anupsarkar.jpg@gmail.com



Article info
Received 29/03/2022; accepted 27/05/2022
http://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-7342/14666

Abstract
Various wild mushrooms have been appreciated as a source of food and medicines from centuries. Although
wild mushrooms were formerly utilised on a modest scale, people now favour mushrooms as a source of
nutritious or healthy food. Pharmaceutical scientists have discovered many therapeutic ingredients from these
mushrooms. Since few decades researchers have confirmed the therapeutic implications of such mushrooms
and similar under-utilized food. Phallus indusiatus Vent. is one of such mushrooms which well accepted
by researchers as a source of bioactive compounds. It is synonymously known as Dictyophora indusiata
(Vent.) Desv. It is also possible to evaluate the therapeutic roles of different bioactive compounds extracted
from P. indusiatus. Most of them have great healthy benefits such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity,
immunomodulatory, organoprotective and anticancer effects. Due to the outstanding healthy benefits and
therapeutic value various molecules from P. indusiatus have been studied in recent years.

Keywords
Phallus indusiatus, Dictyophora indusiata, mushroom, fungi, bioactive compounds, polysaccharides


Introduction

Phallus indusiatus Vent. [syn. Dictyophora indusiata (Vent.) Desv.] is a cosmopolitan saprobic
agaricomycetous fungus from order Phallales commonly known as stinkhorn fungus. Many species
from genus Phallus are widely recognized as edible with medicinal properties. Phallus indusiatus
is also acknowledged as medicinal in many regions of the world including southern Asia, Africa,
Australia, and the Americas (Guzman et al., 1990). The species belonging to Phallus are usually
short-lived and early development of their fruiting bodies (egg phase) is an oval or round-shaped
structures which later form mature basidioma, differing in colour and pattern (Tuno, 1983; Gogoi and
Parkash, 2014). This mushroom has several common names such as Queen of mushrooms, Stinkhorn
fungus, Veiled lady mushroom, Bamboo mushroom etc. According to recent literature data, the P.
indusiatus is considered as the valid taxonomic name although it is more popular as D. indusiata
(Elkhateeb et al., 2020). As a saprobic fungus it grows well in rotted woody trunk or organically rich
soil. Macroscopically it has three diagnostic features: a conical cap, a stalk and an indusium net-like
white veil that hangs from the head/cap down to cover the leg/stalk (Habtemariam, 2019). The species
is cosmopolitan in distribution and abundant in grassland habitat (Sitinjak, 2016). It is concluded

Department of Agricultural and Food Science in partnership with the Italian Mycological Society (UMI).
The journal is hosted and maintained by ABIS-AlmaDL. © 2022 The Authors. This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Mazumder et al.                                                    Italian Journal of Mycology 51 (2022): 47-57

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that the species can stimulates the growth of grass species and protect soil layers from degradation
(Sitinjak, 2016). According to Kreisel (1996), the form and surface configuration of the receptacle,
the colour of the receptacle and volva, the size of the basidiomata, and the presence or absence of the
indusium are the most essential morphological criteria for the taxonomy of different Phallus species.
   This fungus has been consumed by ethnic groups of many countries including China and other
Asian countries. Along with advancements in planting techniques and the selection of superior
cultivated varieties, the farming and consumption of P. indusiatus are growing at an alarming rate
(Wang et al., 2021). However, this fungus is not only appreciated as a food, but also as an important
repository of many bioactive compounds with therapeutic value. According to ethnomycological
data, consumption of P. indusiatus has been first recorded in China since 618 AD (Zidan and Neameh,
2014). In traditional system, it is known to treat different nutritional bioactivities like benefits to eyes,
cardioprotective, tumour suppressive effect, etc. (Elkhateeb et al., 2020). Research data revealed
that the fungus possess antioxidant, organoprotective, anticancer, immuno-modulatory, anti-diabetic,
anti-obesity, and other therapeutic effects. As the quality of the fruiting body degrades quickly due
to ageing and autolysis, it must be consumed or processed within a few hours after maturity (Wang
et al., 2021). In this review authors have tried to present the up-to-date information available on the
therapeutic attributes of P. indusiatus. This review would also provide new perspectives on the research
directions towards pharmacologically active natural products and their commercial utilization.

Bioactive compounds and therapeutic application
The fruiting body of P. indusiatus is treasured for its appealing appearance, delectable taste, and high
nutritional value, as well as its bio-active compounds with beneficial medicinal properties (Fig. 1). It
is known to possess a wide range of bioactive compounds that impart vast nutritional and medicinal
value to human. It exhibits antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulatory,
antibacterial, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic activities, as well as it contains several vitamins.
Polysaccharide, flavone, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids are the primary active components of
this fungus. It has gained a lot of attention in the pharmaceutical industry due to the therapeutic effects,
such as anti-stress, anti-tumour, immunomodulatory agent. Many extensive studies on bioactive
compounds of P. indusiatus have been conducted using animal model. Ker et al. (2011) revealed up
to 47% carbohydrate composition of the dry weight, 38% is soluble polysaccharides, while crude
protein and crude fibre content account for 6% and 29%, respectively. It is widely established that
mushrooms contain polysaccharides that are potent immunomodulatory agents. Zidan and Neameh
(2014) isolated 10 different kinds of monosaccharides such as rhamnose, fucose, ribose, arabinose,
xylose, allose, talose, mannose, galactose, glucose and myco-inositol. Hara et al. (1982, 1983) isolated
two soluble glucans, characteristically having β-(1→6) branches linked to β- (1→3)-D-glucosamine
frames. Most of the researchers considered that the pharmacological and therapeutic activities of P.
indusiatus are assigned to the polysaccharides (Wang, 2018). Lin (2003) isolated a polysaccharide
(Di-S2P) with a homologous MW870 kDa consisting of monosaccharide D-glucose : D-galactose
: D-mannose : xylose in a molar ratio 1.62 : 1.87 : 100 : 0.93 (Wang and Shiao, 2000). Among
the most important polysaccharides is 1,3-β-glucan which is well recognized for many therapeutic
implications. Wang and Shiao (2000) also isolated a water-soluble triple helical glucan (PD3) having
MW510 kDa. Ke and Lin (2001) obtained a glycoprotein DIGP-2, having the molar ratio D-galactose
: D-glucose : D-mannose (0.78 : 2.12 : 1) (Ouyang et al., 1998). It consists of seven essential amino
acids, 12 precious metallic ions and rather high content of vitamin E, β-carotene, thiamine, riboflavin,
nicotinic acid, l-ascorbic acid, calcium and phosphate (Mau et al., 2001; Ma and Zhang, 2004; Bai
and Fang, 2008). Ishiyama et al. (1999) isolated five monoterpene alcohols from the fruiting body
of the mushroom in which one was identified as 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadiene-3,4-diol and structures

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of remaining four were determined by means of spectral and chemical method and represented as
4-[(3R,4S)-3-hydroxy-3,7-dimethylocta-1,6-dienyl(Z)-9-octadecenoate; 4-[(3R,4S)-3-hydroxy-3,7
dimethyl-octa-1,6-dienyl-(9Z,12Z)-9,12-octadecenoate;           3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadiene-3,4,5triol;
bis[6-(3,4,7 trihydroxy-dimethyloctenyl) ether (Sharma et al., 2004). Phallus indusiatus also possess
a notable amount of furfural compound namely, 5-(hydroxymethyl) -2-furfural which have tyrosinase
inhibitory activity and due to this compound, it is now added to the list of beneficial food like
honey, fruit juices, milk, vinegar and beverages (Sharma et al., 2004; Habtemariam, 2019). Xu et al.
(2015) isolated and purified a polysaccharide, DiPS-3, from the fruiting body of this mushroom and
confirmed its rheological properties and also suggested that DiPS-3 could be used as a kind of natural
food additives and polysaccharide gel in food industry (Xu et al., 2015). Sharma et al. (2004) reported
anti-tyorsinase activity of the mushroom and its active component was isolated and characterized as
5-(Hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural (HMF) by spectroscopic analysis (Sharma et al., 2004). Using this
mushroom tyrosinase, they observed that methanolic extract of the fruiting bodies showed significant
inhibition of L-DOPA oxidation.

Antioxidant activity
Antioxidant activity of P. indusiatus is well established by many researchers. A study reported that
aqueous extract from P. indusiatus retains antioxidant properties like scavenging free radicals and
superoxide anions (Oyetayo et al., 2009). Its stipe and pileus contain high antioxidants substances
which are able to prevent oxidation processes and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (Boonsrirattana,
2020). Mau et al. (2002) conducted a series of experiments and concluded that P. indusiatus has
excellent reducing power and scavenging activity on DPPH radicals. Li et al. (2012) also reported that
aqueous extracts of the mushroom possessed the highest hydroxyl radicals scavenging capacity and
ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation. Another valuable study reported that aqueous extract of the fungi
at a concentration of 2 mg mL-1 exhibited high scavenging activities for DPPH radicals (97.35%),
hydroxyl radicals (52.28%) and superoxide anions (48.64%) as well as strong reducing power of
1.22 but a very weak ferrous ion chelating effect of 18.56% (Oyetayo et al., 2009). Ker et al. (2011)
obtained six soluble polysaccharides from the mushroom, of which the one with the smallest weight
exhibited the most potent scavenging effect against hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anion. Wang
et al. (2015) invented a novel triple helical polysaccharide DiPS-3 and showed that it exhibited a
variety of radical scavenging activities. Zhang et al. (2016) evaluated the capacity of DiPS against
paraquat-induced oxidative toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans and have found that DiPS is capable
of reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and increasing
superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity.

Immunomodulatory effect
Polysaccharides derived from P. indusiatus has notable anti-inflammatory activity. Mushroom-
covered mucus has a concentrated volva that has high hyaluronic acid (HA) and allantoin which
has anti-inflammatory effect to reduce skin irritation, add moisture, and regenerate damaged skin
cells. Many researchers reported that biologically active polysaccharides of P. indusiatus have
capacity for the enhancement of immune responses. Hara et al. (1991) isolated five homogenous and
one conjugated polysaccharide from the 70% aqueous ethanol extract and hot water extract of this
mushroom confirmed their immunomodulatory effects like mitogenic and colony stimulating factor
(CSF) inducing effects. According to this research two homologous polysaccharides fractions (T-3-
Ad and T-4-N) and a conjugated polysaccharide fraction (T-2-A) exhibited mitogenic and colony
stimulating factor (CSF) inducing activities in dose dependent manner, whereas T-3-M′, T-5-N and
T-2-HN were not effective at any dose. Another study considered that these polysaccharides act as

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immunopotentiators as in many cases these polysaccharides promote Nitric oxide (NO), tumour
necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) secretion and develop immune response to treat
immunodeficiency and chronic infections (Liao et al., 2015). The study of Guo et al. (2005) concluded
that extract of the mushroom has radiation protective effect and according to the study the thymus and
pancreatic index, CD4+, CD16, CD57 and interleukin 2 were all improved, while CD8+ was decreased
when the extract was applied to the organism affected by radiation. Further findings have shown that
on entering into the gastrointestinal tract DiPS are likely to first exert an immunomodulatory effect on
the intestinal mucosal immune system, and then influence the overall immune system through a series
of pathways, including controlling macrophages, regulatory T cells and secretion of IgA and various
cytokines (Schepetkin et al., 2006; Huang et al., 2017). In a study, it was showed that DiPS had a
good effect on the haemolysis antibody level in a dose dependent manner (Hua et al., 2012). Various
researchers confirmed that mushroom polysaccharides are known to stimulate the immune system
responses of natural killer cells, T-cells, B-cells and macrophages, but works of Hua et al. (2012)
suggested that mushroom polysaccharides like DiPS could improve the non-specific immune function
and lymphocyte function. Hua et al. (2012) isolated two polysaccharides from the mushroom which
were later named as DIP-I and DIP-II D and further findings suggested that DIP-I could improve
the weight of thymus organ of mice and phagocytosis of monocyte in a dose-dependent manner,
whereas DIP-II could improve the weight of spleen and thymus of mice, restoring a delayed-type
hypersensitivity reaction to dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB), improving the Natural killer (NK) cell
activity and the proliferation of splenocytes at high dose.

Anti-obesity and antidiabetic effect
Many mushrooms and their products are well recognized as anti-diabetic and anti-obesity food. Due to
this reasons researcher are now set their goal to evaluate the anti-obesity and anti-diabetic potential of
the mushroom P. indusiatus. Though it is believed in China and Japan that consumption of P. indusiatus
reduces chance of diabetes and obesity but the scientific study in this aspect is just beginning to take
shape. There is only a limited data about this topic. Some comprehensive experiments showed that
45 days oral consumption of the water extractible polysaccharides of the fungi were able to reduce
high fat induced obesity in a mice model (Wasser et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2019a). Such activities
also provide organoprotective effect particularly where oxidative stress is implicated. Another study
also employed the high-fat-induced obesity and hyperlipidaemia model to assess the potential anti-
diabetic effects of that polysaccharides obtained by enzyme assisted or alkali extraction methods
(Wang et al., 2019b). They also have determined a direct glucose lowering effects under oral glucose
tolerance test (OGTT) while the alteration in the serum adiponectin level and the increases in insulin
and leptin were normalized. The acidic and alkali extracted polysaccharides have also been shown to
increase Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) in the D-galactose-induced
senescence in rats (Hua et al., 2012).

Hepatoprotective effect
Different studies revealed that D. indusiata has significant hepatoprotective effects. In a study it was
proved the anti-hyperlipidemic and hepatoprotective properties of alkali- and enzyme-extractable P.
indusiatus polysaccharides (Al-DPS and En-DPS) on the hyperlipidemic mice (Wang et al., 2019b).
In high fat-influenced mice model having severe oxidative damage oral administration of water
extractible DiPS could abolish the increased Lipid peroxidation (LPO) and simultaneously elevating
SOD, GPx, Catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant (T-AOC) activities in the liver and kidney tissues
(Wang et al., 2019b; Wang et al., 2019c). DiPS has some interventional effect on liver damage.
A study concluded that DiPS has a protective effect on the liver of rat with arsenic poisoning as

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it can reduce the arsenic content in blood, urine and liver (Wang et al., 2018). In a study it was
found that P. indusiatus polysaccharides significantly inhibited liver transplantation tumours in mice
and effectively controlled the growth of ascites tumour in mice (Zong et al., 2013). Recently some
workers proved that the polysaccharides inhibit abnormal cellular growth in human liver (Zhong et
al., 2013; Hu et al., 2020).

Neuroprotective effect
Mushrooms contain a wide range of bioactive metabolites with positive impacts on human cognitive
function, and this is very plausible. Since ancient time P. indusiatus is recognized as beneficial product
for nervous system. Several neuroprotective compounds were isolated from P. indusiatus. Kawagishi et
al. (1997) isolated two bioactive molecules Dictyophorine A and Dictyophorine B and also confirmed
their stimulating effect on Nerve Growth Factors (NGF). These are actually two derivatives of an
eudesmane type sesquiterpenes compound teucrenone and have significant influence on astroglial
cells to enhance the synthesis of NGF. The compounds are special as they consist of three isoprene
units and it was shown that the quantity of NGF secretion into the medium in the presence of 3.3mM
of dictyophorines-A was four times higher than that of the control without treatment (Kawagishi
et al., 1997; Phan et al., 2017). Lee et al. (2002) isolated three neuroprotective compounds from
methanol extract of the mushroom which were named as dictyoquinazol A, dictyoquinazol B and
dictyoquinazol C. Further research proved that such dictyoquinazols are unique in nature and they
also showed that such compounds protected primary cultured mouse cortical neurons from glutamate
and NMDA induced excitotoxicity in a dose dependent manner. Another neuroprotective compound
of sesquiterpenes class has been identified from dried fruiting body of the fungus albaflavenone
(Huang et al., 2011). Zhang et al. (2016) conducted an experiment to demonstrate neuroprotective
effect of DiPS on neurodegenerative Caenorhabditis elegans models and showed that it could
increase survival rate and reduce stress level under paraquat-induced oxidative conditions. It was
also determined by the researchers that DiPS was also able to decrease ROS and MDA level and
increase SOD activity in C. elegans model and restore the functional parameters of mitochondria like
membrane potential, ATP content. The mushroom may promotes neurite outgrowth in the brain by
increasing NGF synthesis, imitating NGF responsiveness, or shielding neurons from neurotoxicant-
induced cell death. Through the underlying processes of the mushroom’s neurotropic chemicals, it
may act as a preventative measure against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Anti-tumour activity
Many of the pharmaceutical scientist believed that P. indusiatus and allied species contain some
anti-carcinogenic and anti-mutagenic substances. A study found that both methanol and ethyl acetate
extracts of Phallus sp. have significant anti-proliferative action against breast cancer cell lines MCF-
7 (Ray et al., 2020). There is no doubt that many fungal polysaccharides are potent anticancer agent.
Hara et al. (1982) isolated some polysaccharides from these mushrooms and concluded that few of
them exhibited potent anticancer bioactivity. Ukai et al. (1982) confirmed that T-2-HN, T-4-N and
T-5-N could inhibit tumor in a dose dependent manner. Polysaccharides of P. indusiatus appear to
display potential as anti-cancerous agent through two separate mechanism of actions direct antitumor
effect and immunostimulation (Habtemariam, 2019). Liao et al. (2015) successfully chelated DiPS
with ZnCl2 and proved the anti-proliferative activity of DiPS complex on a group of human cancer cell
lines through induction of apoptosis. Their further findings suggested that the apoptosis by the complex
was associated with the condensation of nuclei, fragmentation of DNA, arrest of S-phase during cell
cycle and mitochondrial dysfunction. A group of researchers isolated a novel polysaccharide ZSP4
from this mushroom and evaluated its effect on prostate cancer and have found that ZSP4 proliferate

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immune cells, reverse the immune-suppressive functions of prostate cancer associated fibroblast
(CAFs) and inhibit the growth of tumour by affecting micro-environment of tumor (Han et al., 2017).
Apart from these other findings indicated that a polysaccharide of the mushroom having molecular
weight 6.52 × 104 Da, may act as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent in osteosarcoma cell
by reducing cell viability (Zhong et al., 2013). According to this research due to the polysaccharide
treatment, osteosarcoma s180 cell significantly increase caspase-3, which in turn execute apoptosis of
the cell. It has been also confirmed that P. indusiatus polysaccharides have potential anti-tumour effect
on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC) and it was found that these polysaccharides inhibited
HCC-LM3 cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner and blocked the cell cycle in the
G2/M phase by regulating the apoptosis related genes (Hu et al., 2020). According to them, these
polysaccharides up-regulate the expression of the genes for Baxand caspase-3 and inhibit Bcl-2/Bax
heterodimer formation. Daba et al. (2020) conducted an experiment to evaluate the metabolic profiles
of n-hexane extract of the mushroom and found that few medium chain fatty acids like caproic acid
show mild anticancer and anti-proliferation activities against HCT116 human colon cancer cell lines.
Due to presence of caproic acid and similar medium chain fatty acids, n-hexane extract of fruiting
bodies could potentially be used to prevent and/or treat human colorectal, skin and breast cancer cells
(Narayanan et al., 2015). Many investigations have shown that the methanol extract of this species
is highly efficient at quenching free radicals, making it a very promising option not only as a safe
alternative anticancer medication but also as an excellent chemotherapy antioxidant adjuvant.

Anti-microbial activity
Evaluation of the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of mushroom extracts could be extremely
useful in the development of novel antioxidant and antimicrobial product and functional food
additives in our diets to prevent oxidative and pathogenic damage. As a result, numerous researchers
conducted in vitro studies to determine the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of chloroform, 70%
ethanol, and hot water extracts of P. indusiatus fruiting bodies. Antimicrobial property of methanol,
ethyl acetate, ethanol, acetone and volatile oil extracts from P. indusiatus have been reported by many
traditional and modern researchers (Tan et al., 1999; Mao et al., 2002). Gram positive and Gram-
negative bacteria were both susceptible to antimicrobial effects of the fungal extracts, but microzymes
and moulds were not (Hao et al., 2008). Huang et al. (2011) isolated a sesquiterpene antibiotic from
the fungi, namely albaflavenone, and described its properties and bioactivity. They claim that this
compound has an earthy or camphor-like odour and has potent antibacterial properties. Additionally,
it was established that fungus has a significantly stronger inhibitory effect than bacteria (Wang et al.,
2018). Using the crude polysaccharide (DIP) from the mushroom, researchers were able to reverse
the antibiotic-induced dysbiosis and modulate the gut microbiota ecology by reducing pathogenic
bacteria such as Enterococcus, Bacteroides and Proteobacteria (Wang et al., 2018). Both the crude
and purified polysaccharides have inhibitory effect on bacteria but the former one has significant
bacteriostasis and later one has not so obvious bacteriostatic activity (Kanwal et al., 2018). Oyetayo
et al. (2009) performed an experiment to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of water extract of the
species on some microbes and found that the extract had significant zone inhibition activity (Table 1).




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Table1. Antimicrobial effect of water extracts (200 mg mL-1) of P. indusiatus against selected test microorganisms
(adapted from Oyetayo et al., 2009).
 Microorganism                                    Type of microbes              Inhibition zone radius (mm)
 Escherichia coli                                          Bacteria                          2.00 ± 0.50
 Alcaligenes faecalis                                      Bacteria                          7.15 ± 0.30
 Salmonella typhimurium                                    Bacteria                          2.75 ± 0.25
 Shigella dysenteriae                                      Bacteria                          4.00 ± 0.50
 Pseudomonas aeruginosa                                    Bacteria                          3.75 ± 0.25
 Bacillus subtilis                                         Bacteria                          3.00 ± 0.25
 Staphylococcus aureus                                     Bacteria                          4.15 ± 0.25
 Bacillus cereus                                           Bacteria                          2.35 ± 0.30
 Aspergillus niger                                           Fungi                          No inhibition
 Aspergillus flavus                                          Fungi                           1.25 ± 0.30
 Candida albicans                                            Fungi                           5.50 ± 0.50
 Cryptococcus neoformans                                     Yeast                           3.65 ± 0.60



  Antioxidant Activity

                                                      H e pa to-                                Anti-
                                                     prote c tive                             cancerous
             Anti-oxidant
                                                      A c tiv ity                              Activity
               Activity




           P r o t e c t io n o f                                                           A n t i -d i a b e t i c
               N e r vous                                                                       A c tiv ity
                S ys te m


                A nti-                                                                       A n t i -o b e s i t y
             dia r rhoe a l                                                                     A c tiv ity
              a c tiv ity
                                               Ph a l l u s i ndu s i a tu s



         Anti-microbial
            Activity                                                                           Anti-
                                                      I m m uno-                          inflammatory
                                                     m odula tor y



  Fig. 1 – Therapeutic properties of Phallus indusiatus.



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Conclusion
The well-known edible medicinal fungus P. indusiatus is famous for its attractive colour and
appearance. However, its natural resources are underutilized. Since last three decades study of
medicinal properties and bioactive compounds have been increased to a great extent. It was showed
that the edible part of P. indusiatus has several therapeutic implications like antioxidant activities,
immunological activities, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-fatigue, anti-tumour
and anti-cancer effects. Polysaccharides are regarded as the most important bioingredients of it.
They are responsible for antioxidant, anti-tumour and immunoenhancing effects. Recent research
concluded that some other compounds of this mushroom are also beneficial to human health. Due to
health promoting effect and extraordinary therapeutic value, this mushroom has attracted people’s
attention and now it has been consumed regularly in many countries. This review has concluded
that compounds protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and dietary fibre extracted from this species have
superior health benefits and are also useful as complementary medicine to treat many ailments. Further
research is also needed to confirm their activities mentioned in ancient traditional document as well as
their safe application on human bodies. The further advanced study and research could improve and
enhance their application in broader and more appropriate range. Large-scale clinical research in the
population will confirm organoprotective capabilities of the mushroom.

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