Antihypertensive and metabolic effects of whole Maitake mushroom powder and its fractions in two rat strains.

Maitake mushroom has been reported to favorably influence hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of whole Maitake mushroom powder and two extracts designated as ether soluble (ES) and water soluble (WS) on Zucker fatty rats (ZFR), a model of insulin resistance, and on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), a model of genetic hypertension. In the initial study, we followed four groups of eight ZFR and SHR receiving special diets: a baseline diet (BD), BD + whole Maitake mushroom powder (20% w/w), BD + fraction ES (0.