Background and Purpose: Volvariella volvacea is an edible mushroom that has been demonstrated to exhibit various biological activities and contain numerous biochemical compounds. However, it was reported to cause invasive infection in immunocompromised patients, affecting their body organs in the process. Infective nature of V. volvacea has not yet been fully elucidated. Although its bioactivities and compounds are considered pharmacologically beneficial, they were examined in this bifaceted review to provide a preliminary explanation for the harmful opportunistic behavior of the fungus.
Materials and Methods: Published articles retrieved from Google Scholar were comprehensively consolidated, evaluated, and summarized. Specific keywords, relative to infection reports, biological activities, and compounds of V. volvacea, as well as infective mechanisms of some medically significant fungal pathogens, were used to collect and select studies for this review.
Results: Related studies describing the mechanisms of opportunistic and true pathogenic fungal species, as well as other disease-related biological processes, were used as the basis for this review. Based on these findings, V. volvacea may induce systemic infection through its bioactivities and compounds. Overall, these properties may contribute to the growth, survival, proliferation, pathogenicity, and virulence of the fungus during infection. The antioxidant activity may help evade the defense mechanisms of the host, such as the induction of oxidative stress during an infection. Immunomodulatory mechanisms, through increased immunological cells and pro-inflammatory genes, may exacerbate damage within the tissues of the host. Similarly, cytotoxicity may also help worsen the fungal infection by impeding division of healthy cells. Meanwhile, the antimicrobial activity of V. volvacea may aid the outgrowth of both beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms within the host microbiota, resulting in harmful dysbiosis. The initiation of platelet aggregation, which is a defense mechanism against infection, may also be evaded by the fungus through its antiplatelet property. Moreover, the biological compounds of V. volvacea, namely phenols, flavonoids, and β-glucan, may also contribute to infection through their association with the aforementioned biological activities, in addition to their toxicological properties.
Conclusion: This review may serve as a basis for future studies to provide a deeper understanding of the infective behavior of V. volvacea, paving the way for improved diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. In the meantime, adherence to precautionary and biosafety measures when handling V. volvacea, as well as maintaining overall health, is highly encouraged, especially for individuals with frequent exposure to the mushroom.