Lentinan

General information

Lentinan is an immunomodulating glucan that is extracted from the mushroom Lentinus edodes. It has been used in small numbers of patients with gastric cancers [ ] and malignant effusions [ ]. It has also been used in HIV-positive patients [ ] and to ameliorate impairment of natural killer cell activity after cardiopulmonary bypass [ ].

Of 98 patients with HIV infection, treatment had to be withdrawn in four because of adverse reactions; other adverse reactions included one case each of a non-IgE-mediated anaphylactic (anaphylactoid) reaction, back pain, leg pain, depression, rigors, fever, chills, granulocytopenia, and raised liver enzymes [ ].