British Columbian wild mushrooms as potent source of novel natural anti-cancer compounds

Worldwide, many fungal species have been used for their medicinal properties by various cultures for centuries. Major challenges with cancer chemotherapy, which includes toxicity, non-specificity and several adverse effects have motivated researchers to search for novel anti-cancer compounds from natural sources. Several studies have identified various anti-cancer compounds from mushrooms in many parts of the world, but mushrooms occurring in British Columbia remain unstudied for their anti-cancer activities. In this thesis, five mushroom species were collected, extracted, and assessed for anti-proliferative and immuno-stimulatory activities. Eleven extracts from these species showed anti-proliferative or immuno-stimulatory activity or both. Sodium hydroxide extract from Paxillus obscurisporus exhibited potent anti-proliferative activity and was further purified using size-exclusion and anion-exchange chromatography. Analysis of the relatively pure anti-proliferative fractions suggests the presence of protein and glycoprotein moieties. Further purification and characterisation is needed before these compounds can be tested for biomedical purposes in the future.