Water extract of antrodia camphorata for immunostimulatory effect and preparation method thereof

Abstract

A preparation method for a water extract of the fruiting body of Antrodia camphorata (ACW) is provided. The method includes steps of: (a) providing the fruiting body; and (b) boiling the fruiting body in water to obtain the water extract. This polysaccharide-rich water extract from A. camphorata induces the maturation of dendritic cells, enhances T cell proliferation and INF-γ production, and polarizes them toward the Th1 pathway. ACW can be effectively applied in cancer immunotherapy.

1 . A fractionation extract of a fruiting body of an Antrodia camphorata, comprising at least one characteristic of:
 (1) causing first signals of the carbohydrate on a first  1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum; and   (2) causing a plurality of hydrogen signals of anomeric carbons of the polysaccharides on a second  1 H NMR spectrum.   
     
     
         2 . The fractionation extract according to  claim 1 , wherein the first signals have the first chemical shift ranged between 3.0 and 5.5, and the plurality of hydrogen signals have second chemical shifts at 4.44, 4.46, 4.91, 5.00 and 5.15 respectively. 
     
     
         3 . The fractionation extract according to  claim 1  being a second water extract fractionized from a water extract of the fruiting body of the  Antrodia camphorata.    
     
     
         4 . A method for preparing a water extract of a fruiting body of an  Antrodia camphorata,  comprising steps of:
 (a) providing the fruiting body; and   (b) boiling the fruiting body in a water to obtain the water extract.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the step (a) further comprises a step (a1) of grinding the fruiting body as a powder. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the step (b) further comprises a step (b1) of refluxing the water after the boiling step. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the water extract has a precipitate therein, and the method further comprises a step (c) of removing the precipitate from the water extract. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the step (c) is performed by at least one of treatments of filtering the water extract and centrifuging the water extract. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the step (c) further comprises a step (d) of extracting the water extract with at least one organic solvent to obtain an organic solvent extract. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one organic solvent has an ethyl acetate and an ethanol, and the step (d) further comprises steps of:
 (d1) extracting the water extract with the ethyl acetate to obtain an ethyl acetate extract and a first residue; and   (d2) extracting the first residue with the ethanol to obtain an ethanol extract and a second residue.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the step (d2) further comprises a step (d3) of extracting the second residue with a second water to obtain a second water extract. 
     
     
         12 . A method for maturating a differentiating cell, comprising a step of administrating the cell with a water extract as claimed in  claim 7 . 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the cell is an immature dendritic cell. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the cell increasingly expresses at least one protein after the administration with the water extract, and the at least one protein is one selected from a group consisting of a CD86, a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 12  further comprising a step of providing a second cell, wherein the cell expresses a cytokine after the administration with the water extract, and the cytokine induces the second cell to express a second cytokine. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the cytokine comprises an interleukin-12, the second cell is a helper T cell, and the second cytokine is an interferon-gamma (INF-γ). 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the cell progresses migration induced by the water extract. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the cell expresses at least one protein after the administration with the water extract, and the at least one protein is one selected from a group consisting of a Bax, a Bcl-2, a nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) p65, a phosphorylated p38 (p-p38), a phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), a phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt), a phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the cell is induced by the water extract to go into a signaling transduction pathway being one of a phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway and a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway.