Mushrooms and related fungi have played important roles throughout human history. The earliest archeological record of medicinal mushroom use comes from a 5,500-year-old Tassili cave image which depicts a dancing, mushroom-wreathed shaman; the oldest written record of mushrooms as medicinals is in an Indian medical treatise from 3000 BC.
In 1991, hikers in the Italian Alps discovered the well-preserved remains of a man who had died over five thousand years ago. This so-called “Iceman” possessed a knapsack that contained, among other things, a string of dried medicinal mushrooms. Mushrooms have been used as food, as hallucinogens in rituals, as healing agents, and (occasionally) as vehicles for intentional poisonings. (Mushroom Civilization and History in Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, Paul Stamets. Ten Speed Press, 1993:1-4)
During the last half of the 20th century, cultivation techniques were developed that allowed mass production of some mushrooms – about 40 species are now grown commercially – and technological advances permitted the isolation of many of the active compounds from medicinal mushrooms. Some of these agents exhibit remarkable therapeutic properties – indeed, a few are marketed as pharmaceuticals in the Far East – but our understanding and use of these agents, particularly in the Western hemisphere, are as yet only rudimentary.
Medicinal Compounds Found in Mushrooms – and Their Potential Uses
Of the more than 270 mushroom species that exhibit medicinal properties, only a few have been studied for their chemical constituents. Although mushrooms vary widely in biology, it is likely that many of the medicinal compounds are shared among different species. Important compounds discovered to date include polysaccharides (long chains of sugar-like molecules), beta-D-glucans, and proteoglycans.
Pharmacological properties, actions, and potential uses for these compounds include:
- Antitumor
- Antibacterial
- Antiviral
- Antifungal
- Antioxidant
- Antihypertensive
- Cholesterol-lowering
- Immunostimulating (increase immune activity)
- Immunomodulating (decrease or balance immune activity)
In Japan and China, three mushrooms have been used to generate pharmaceutical-grade medications that are used in the treatment of cancer. Polysaccharides from these fungi are marketed under the trade names Krestin or PSK (from Trametes versicolor, the “turkey tail” mushroom); Lentinan (from Lentinus edodes, the shiitake mushroom); and Sonifilan (from Schizophyllum commune, the split-gill polypore).
Krestin is employed in the treatment of gastrointestinal, lung, and breast cancers; Lentinan is used for stomach cancers; and Sonifilan has found application in the treatment of cervical cancer.
Popular Medicinal Mushrooms and Their Uses
Although the constituents of a few commonly-used mushrooms are well researched and some of their properties are described in various biographies, most of the purported benefits of medicinal mushrooms are unsupported by the scientific literature. This is not necessarily because these benefits are nonexistent; rather, it is because the research simply hasn’t been done. (See Medicinal Mushrooms and Cancer)
Medicinal mushrooms that have been successfully cultivated (and their properties) include:
- Agaricus brasiliensis (Royal Sun Blazei): antitumor; antiviral; blood sugar modulator; cholesterol reducer; immune support
- Cordyceps sinensis: antibacterial; antioxidant; antitumor; antiviral; antihypertensive; blood sugar modulator; heart, liver, lung, nerve, and kidney tonic; cholesterol reducer; sexual potentiator
- Fomes fomentarius (Amadou): antibacterial; antiviral
- Fomitopsis officinalis (Agarikon): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antiviral
- Ganoderma applanatum (Artist’s Conk): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antitumor; lung tonic
- Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Chi): same as for Cordyceps, plus antifungal and anti-inflammatory
- Ganoderma oregonense (Oregon Polypore): antibacterial; antitumor; heart, lung, and nerve tonic; immune support
- Grifola frondosa (Maitake or Hen-of-the-Woods): antibacterial; antifungal; antitumor; antiviral; antihypertensive; blood sugar modulator; immune support; lung and nerve tonic
- Hericium erinaceus (Yamabushitake or Lion’s Mane): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antitumor; nerve tonic
- Innotus obliquus (Chaga): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antitumor; antiviral; blood sugar modulator; immune support; liver tonic
- Lentinula edodes (Shiitake): antibacterial; antifungal; antitumor; antiviral; antihypertensive; blood sugar modulator; cholesterol reducer; immune support; kidney and liver tonic; sexual potentiator
- Phellinus linteus (Mesima): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antitumor; antiviral
- Piptoporus betulinus (Birch Polypore): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antiviral; immune system support
- Pleurotus ostreatus (Hiratake or Pearl Oyster): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antiviral; antihypertensive; heart and nerve tonic; cholesterol reducer; immune support
- Polyporus sulphureus (Chicken-of-the-Woods): antibacterial
- Polyporus umbellatus (Zhu Ling): antibacterial; anti-inflammatory; antitumor; antiviral; liver and lung tonic; immune support
- Schizophyllum commune (Suehirotake or Split-gill Polypore): antifungal; antitumor; antiviral
- Trametes versicolor (Yun Zhi or Turkey Tail): antibacterial; antifungal; antioxidant; antitumor; antiviral; kidney and liver tonic; immune support
Humans have enjoyed the benefits of medicinal mushrooms for thousands of years, but the true extent of their usefulness is largely untouched. Hopefully, further research will confirm what traditional healers have always known: Mushrooms are a repository of untold remedies.
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