Hypouricemic effect of Grifola frondosa on hyperuricemic mice and virtual screening of bioactives by 3D QSAR pharmacophore modeling

Grifola frondosa (GF) has been exploited as herb medicine for metabolic diseases and also as tasty food in Asia. Water (GFW) and ethanol (GFE) extracts produced remarkable hypouricemic effects, thereby decreasing the levels of serum uric acid from 240 mu mol/L (hyperuricemia control, P < 01) to 170, 169, and 153 mu mol/L for GFW at doses of 30, 60, and 120 mg/kg and to 169, 168, and 156 mu mol/L for GFE at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg correspondingly, which were similar to the normal control (159 mu mol/L). ELISA analysis demonstrated the inhibitory effects of GFW and GFE on URAT1 protein rather than xanthine oxidase (XOD). The 3D-QSAR pharmacophore model for URAT1 was established successfully. Four compounds were identified and mapped adequately, deserving further study. Taken together, G. frondosa is a promising candidate for the development of functional foods.