Overview and General Description of Medicinal Mushrooms
The use of mushrooms for food and medicinal purposes dates back several thousand years. A large body of research and published articles has been produced that details the health benefits of various species of mushrooms. Recent interest in medicinal qualities of mushrooms has paralled the rise in widespread cultivation of this nutritionally powerful and useful food.
Mushrooms are a complex biological organism that contain numerpus bioactive nutrients and antioxidants that are believed to maintain normal cellular function and and help stimulate the body’s immune system. Chinese holistic practitioners believe that certain species of mushrooms enable and enhance the body’s ability to heal itself. Most consumers are familiar with white button mushrooms, but mycological scientists have identified approximately forty-six thousand mushroom species which are currently categorized. Modern investigation into the medicinal effects of mushroom began in the late 1960’s. There are four species that are especially important to our current natural medicine pharmacopoeia. Our company, Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc., has access to supplies of these four mushrooms and has performed analytic tests identifying bioactive compounds and components within these species.
- Cordyceps or Dong Chong Xia Cao (Cordyceps sinesis)
- Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
- Reishi (Gauoderma Tucidum)
- Coriolus or Turkey Tail (Coriolus versicolor)
Independent testing suggests that these four species are beneficial with regard to supplying antioxidants, as vascular support agents, as immune-system enhancers and as anti-inflammatory agents. In the scientific literature, mushrooms are commonly referred to as the “great decomposer.” These unique whole biologic organisms have the ability to digest and break down organic material into smaller organic molecules that are nutritionally bioavailable to plants, animals and humans. Some of the greatest physiological chemistry of our time has been produced by these biologic species; examples include - antibiotics such as. Penicillin and Streptomycin. In the 1960’s, when surgical transplants of organs were being developed, the major problem was organ rejection. Compounds were extracted from mushrooms that could significantly decrease organ rejection. The Pleurotus mushroom, also known as king oyster, produces a chemical that reduces cholesterol. The drug class resulting from the Pleurotus mushroom is called Lovastatin and it is sold under the brand names of Mevacor, Advicor, Altocor, Altoprev and Statosan.
Approximately two-thousand mushroom types have been used and/or studied and found to have chemistry with medical potential. Out of the two-thousand species, twenty have been used by different cultures to treat serious illnesses. This class, termed “Medicinal Mushrooms” has been used by the Chinese for the last 4000 years. It is well documented that Chinese emperors organized medical compendiums on the activities of certain mushrooms. Native American Indians were very adept with the use of plants and mushrooms to treat serious disease states. Their medicine was handed down from shaman to shaman. Researchers have interviewed these various cultures and communities and have published articles describing many medicinal uses of mushrooms.
With the advent of modern chemistry, analytical equipment has enabled detailed studies of medicinal mushrooms over the last forty years. Universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have published thousands of investigational studies on a wide variety of mushroom species. Most of these studies have been performed in Japan and China: there has been a recent increase in investigative studies in America, by research centers, such as University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Minnesota, and Pennsylvania State University.
