In vitro immunomodulatory activity, cytotoxicity and chemistry of some central European polypores.

Context Some mushrooms of the order Polyporales are known for their immunomodulatory actions. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the in vitro phagocytic and cytotoxic effects of extracts from polyporales native to Central Europe. Materials and methods The effects of ethanol extracts from 27 polypore species on opsonized zymosan-induced phagocytosis of isolated human neutrophils were tested by a chemiluminescence method.