Authors
Wang Yuqin, Cui Qiaoqiao, Li Chunru, et al.
Affiliated Institutions
Zhejiang BioAsia Life Science Research Institute
Abstract
During gestational days 7 to 16, Wistar rats were consecutively administered orally with low, medium, and high doses (0.85, 1.70, and 3.40 g/kg, respectively) of sporocarps of cicada-stick like bundles for 10 days. The effects of treatment were evaluated on maternal weight gain during pregnancy, stillbirth rate, absorption rate, number of live fetuses, average litter size, fetal mouse weight, fetal mouse crown-rump length, anterior fontanelle width, combined uterine and fetal weight, as well as fetal external morphology, internal organ development, and skeletal development, to assess the teratogenic potential associated with exposure to the sporocarps of cicada-stick like bundles in pregnant animals. Different doses of artificially cultivated cicada stalk stromata (0.4, 0.25, 0.125 g/kg) were orally administered to both normal mice and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemic model mice. Fasting blood glucose levels and glucose tolerance were assessed to evaluate the hypoglycemic efficacy of the cicada stalk stromata. The results demonstrated that, compared to the negative control group, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed in maternal weight during gestation, stillbirth rate, absorption rate, fetal mouse weight, fetal mouse crown-rump length, anterior fontanelle width, as well as fetal external morphology, visceral development, and skeletal formation across all dosage groups of artificially cultivated cicada stalk stromata in rats. Compared with the model control group, both the medium and low dose groups of artificially cultivated cicada stalk stromata significantly reduced blood glucose levels at 0.5 h post-glucose administration in STZ-induced hyperglycemic model mice (P<0.05). The low dose group also markedly decreased the area under the blood glucose curve from 0 to 2 h in these hyperglycemic mice, without exhibiting adverse effects on body weight or fasting blood glucose levels in normal mice. These results suggest that artificially cultivated Cordyceps cicadae spore-bearing fruiting bodies do not exhibit significant maternal toxicity, embryotoxicity, or teratogenicity in rats, and demonstrate hypoglycemic effects in hyperglycemic mice. (Source: Acta Mycologica, 2021, 40(09):2390-2401)
