Pharmaceutical composition for enhancing immunity, and extract of poria

Abstract

A pharmaceutical composition is used to enhance immunity of the human body. The composition contains potent components of lanostane compounds. A method is devised to obtain an extract from metabolite, sclerotium, or fermentation product of Poria cocos (Schw) Wolf. The extract contains 5-60% of the lanostane compounds by weight of the extract. The extract is devoid of secolanostane capable of inhibiting immunity development.

1 . A method of enhancing immunity of an individual comprising administering to the individual a therapeutically effective amount of a lanostane having the following chemical formula (I) 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1  is either H or CH 3 ; R 2  is OCOCH 3 , ═O or OH; R 3  is H or OH; R 4  is —C(═CH 2 )—C(CH 3 ) 2 R a  wherein R a  is H or OH, or —CH═C(CH 3 )—R b , wherein R b  is CH 3  or CH 2 OH; R 5  is H or OH; and R 6  is CH 3  or CH 2 OH. 
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the lanostane (I) is 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
     
     
         3 . A method of enhancing immunity of an individual comprising administering to the individual a therapeutically effective amount of a  Poria  extract comprising 5-60% of a lanostane having the following chemical formula (I) by weight of the extract, and being substantially devoid of secolanostane: 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       wherein R 1  is either H or CH 3 ; R 2  is OCOCH 3 , ═O or OH; R 3  is H or OH; R 4  is —C(═CH 2 )—C(CH 3 ) 2 R a , wherein R a  is H or OH, or —CH═C(CH 3 )—R b , wherein R b  is CH 3  or CH 2 OH; R 5  is H or OH; and R 6  is CH 3  or CH 2 OH. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the  Poria  extract is prepared by a method comprising the following steps:
 a) extracting metabolites, fermentation products or sclerotium of  Poria cocos  (Schw) Wolf by water, methanol, ethanol, or a mixed solvent thereof;   b) concentrating the resulting liquid extract from step a);   c) introducing the resulting concentrated substance from step b) into a silica gel column;   d) eluting the silica gel column with an eluent having a low polarity, and collecting the resulting eluate;   e) concentrating the eluate to form a concentrated eluate.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the concentrated eluate from step e) has a chromatographic value, Rf, not less than 0.1 in accordance with a thin layer chromatography, which is developed by a mixed solvent of dichloromethane:methanol=96:4 and is detected by an ultraviolet lamp and iodine vapor. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the extraction in step a) is carried out by using 95% ethanol. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the concentrated substance resulted from step b) is further extracted with a two-phase solvent containing methanol and n-hexane in a volumetric ratio of 1:1, a methanol layer is separated from the two-phase solvent extraction mixture, and the methanol layer is concentrated to form a concentrate, which is used as a feed to the silica gel column in step c). 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the low polarity eluent is a mixed solvent containing dichloromethane and methanol in a volumetric ratio of 96.5:3.5. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the  Poria  extract comprises 10-20% of the lanostane (I). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the lanostane (I) is