Mankind has been using botanical substances such as mushrooms for health and healing for centuries – without knowing exactly how they worked. One medicinal mushroom that has long been used with great success is Ganoderma lucidum, better known as reishi mushroom or lingzhi.

3 Key Reishi Mushroom Benefits

In an attempt to understand how reishi mushrooms do their work, modern-day scientists have been investigating the exact mechanisms by which reishi mushroom extracts can help us humans. And their discoveries about reishi mushroom health benefits are fascinating! Here are three broad areas where lingzhi (reishi) really seems to shine:

1. Reishi helps to bring the body back into a state of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the method by which our bodies self-regulate various bodily functions to maintain stability [1]. This helps us to adjust to changing conditions. Reishi mushrooms have an impressive array of antioxidants, polysaccharides, and beta-glucans that endow them with the ability to strengthen the body’s defenses against all sorts of health challenges.
2. Reishi mushrooms are excellent immuno-modulators [2-5] which means they support the immune system. They act either by influencing the functions of cells from the immune system (e.g., macrophages, dendritic cells, lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells) or by affecting the secretion of antibodies which control infections and help to maintain homeostasis.
3. Reishi mushrooms are considered by herbalists to be adaptogens. Adaptogens are natural substances (usually plants) which help the body adapt to stressors such as inflammation, mental stress, depleted energy, damage to tissues, and even hormonal imbalances.

Reishi Mushroom Benefits List: 11 Ways Lingzhi is Used in Traditional Healing

Beyond the three broad categories of Ganoderma lucidum benefits listed above, here are 11 specific uses for which reishi mushroom is best known:

1. Improving energy and diminishing fatigue [6]
2. Reducing inflammation [7,8]
3. Promoting normal cell growth [9]
4. Improving immune function [10-13]
5. Battling infections and viruses (including HIV) [14,15]
6. Promoting a healthy liver [16-21]
7. Improving digestive health [22]
8. Keeping blood sugar levels under control [23-27]
9. Improving cardiovascular health [28-31]
10. Assisting with respiratory disorders like asthma [32,33]
11. Protecting nerves and brain [34-40]

The Health-Supporting Compounds Found in Reishi Mushrooms

So, just what’s in reishi mushrooms that enable them to provide such a wide array of health benefits? According to science, the main biologically active components of reishi mushrooms include:

• Polysaccharides – carbohydrates consisting of a number of beneficial sugar molecules bonded together. There are over 200 polysaccharides isolated from reishi [41]. Of these, the beta-glucans are likely the most well-studied.
• Triterpenes – phytochemical compounds composed of three terpene units with a vast array of biological actions. Over 130 triterpenes have been identified in reishi [42] but the primary ones with most of the studies are known as ganoderic acids.
• Proteins – consisting of amino acids, the building blocks of all cells.
• Peptides – necessary for regulating the activities of other biological molecules.
• Adenosine – present in all cells, the building block for cellular energy.
• Nucleosides – the basis of nucleic acids, the heredity-controlling components of all living cells.

All of the above components of reishi combine to create an exceedingly beneficial mushroom for our health. Here’s more of what researchers have found about this powerful fungi.

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Reishi for Liver Protection

A number of animal studies [43-47] have found reishi mushrooms to have protective effects on the liver. The triterpenes in reishi act to increase levels of antioxidants and inhibit inflammatory processes in the liver.

Can this same protective effect benefit humans? It appears so. A small clinical trial reported in 2017 [48] found that reishi extracts also had liver-protective effects in humans. The participants in the trial receiving the reishi extracts exhibited enhanced levels of antioxidant enzymes. More importantly, ultrasound examinations found that mild fatty liver conditions were reversed to normal.

Reishi for Immuno-modulation

A rapidly growing field of interest in health is that of immuno-modulation. This is a long word which essentially means things that can modulate the activity of the immune system.

If the immune system is over-reacting (as it does in autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis), immuno-modulators can act to quiet it down. If the immune system is under-reacting (as it does in cancer and AIDS), immuno-modulators are able to boost immune function.

A number of studies [49-52] have shown that reishi mushroom extracts have beneficial effects on the immune system by modulating its activity. In both animal studies and human trials, reishi is well-tolerated by all beings, from mice to children to the elderly, and helps to provide beneficial support to the immune system.

Reishi for Cancer Patients

We have several decades of research showing that reishi mushroom extracts promote normal cell growth and have anti-cancer activity against many different types of cancer including leukemia [53,54], breast [55-59], colorectal [60-62], ovarian [63], melanoma [64,65], lung [66], cervical [67], liver [68], prostate [69,70], glioma [71], and sarcoma [72].

Studies have shown that reishi extracts act in several different ways to aid cancer patients. They…

• enhance the activity of the immune system [73-75].

• have direct action against tumors including inhibiting the growth, stickiness, and spread of cancer cells [76-78].

• regulate genes associated with the ability of tumors to grow and spread [79,80].

• enhance the cancer-killing activity of chemotherapy drugs [81].

• help to sensitize drug-resistant cancer cells to chemotherapy, helping it to work better against cancer cells [82,83].

• ease chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting [84].

• improve fatigue in cancer patients receiving endocrine therapy [85].
  
• have direct action against tumors including inhibiting the growth, stickiness, and spread of cancer cells [76-78].

• regulate genes associated with the ability of tumors to grow and spread [79,80].

• enhance the cancer-killing activity of chemotherapy drugs [81].

• help to sensitize drug-resistant cancer cells to chemotherapy, helping it to work better against cancer cells [82,83].

• ease chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting [84].

• improve fatigue in cancer patients receiving endocrine therapy [85].

Please note that if you have cancer, or suspect that you do, you should NOT rely upon reishi mushrooms alone to treat it. Consult a qualified medical professional for treatment options.

Reishi for Cardiovascular Health

Reishi mushrooms appear to act in several different ways to improve cardiovascular health.

An animal study reported in 2018 [86] found that reishi lowered blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol (the kind considered by doctors to be the “bad” cholesterol), and increased levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind). Reishi’s impressive array of antioxidants also have a cardioprotective effect [87].

A 2018 clinical trial [88] included 37 high-risk and 34 stable angina patients who were given reishi polysaccharides (750 mg per day in three divided doses) for 90 days. The researchers found that reishi provided significant levels of antioxidants and helped to protect against atherosclerotic plaques in these patients.

A preliminary 2017 cell study [89] investigated reishi mushroom extracts for their potential therapeutic value for injured heart cells known as cardiomyoblasts. They found that the antioxidants and phytochemicals from reishi provided support for these cells, working at the genetic level to minimize oxidative stress and acting as cardioprotectants.

Reishi for Protecting Nerves

Studies have shown that reishi mushrooms also have a protective effect on the brain and nervous system. They may, in fact, be able to play an important role in helping to diminish neurodegenerative diseases like senile dementia.

Cerebral ischemic disease is one of the leading causes of senile dementia and death worldwide. During cerebral ischemia (which is an inadequate supply of blood to the brain), nutrients to the brain are critically reduced which causes damage to brain neurons with associated oxidative stress, inflammation, and eventually neuronal cell death, particularly in the hippocampus of the brain.

A 2014 animal study [90] found that giving reishi extracts for three and seven days prior to the ischemic event reduced the loss of nerve cells in the hippocampus and increased antioxidant levels, thus providing a neuroprotective effect.

Many other studies – mostly with animals [91-96] – have demonstrated that reishi extracts have a protective benefit for the brain and nervous system and may help to protect from senile dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neuro-degenerative processes. Hopefully, human clinical trials will be carried out soon.

Reishi for Controlling Blood Sugar

Having high blood sugar levels is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, a condition on the rise in many parts of the world. A number of studies have discovered that reishi extracts appear to have a beneficial effect in lowering high blood glucose levels, at least in animals and test tubes.

While human clinical trial results have been mixed, it is obvious that key extracts from reishi mushrooms modulate the activity of genes involved in insulin signaling pathways. The preliminary studies are certainly promising [97-101].

Reishi for Asthma

Asthma, a chronic inflammatory airways disease, affects some 300 million people across the world. Ganoderic acids derived from reishi have been found, both in cell studies and human patients, to inhibit the inflammatory pathways seen in asthma. [102,103].

If You Choose to Consume Reishi

Reishi mushroom extracts appear to be well tolerated, with few (if any) side effects and many potential health benefits. Always purchase your reishi mushrooms and supplements from a trusted, organic grower due to the fact that some manufacturers use less than scrupulous growing and harvesting techniques, which can damage the important therapeutic phytochemicals derived from the mushrooms.

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Originally used in the East as both traditional medicine and food, many mushroom varieties have been studied intensively for their therapeutic properties over the past few decades. In fact, all edible mushrooms seem to possess both medicinal and nutritional benefits, although they must be prepared properly to release their full benefits.

Modern scientific evidence shows that medicinal mushrooms typically act to help strengthen the immune system, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, and help our bodies fight against free radicals, mutagens, and toxins.

These health benefits of mushrooms seem to exist mainly because of the presence of polysaccharides (complex sugar molecules) called beta glucans in their cell walls. Beta glucans are also present in cereal grains, algae, bacteria, fungi, and yeast.

Early human clinical trials with beta glucans have confirmed that they have an immune-strengthening effect and are safe to consume, with minimal to no side effects for most people.

Along with boosting immunity, many of these potent mushrooms have other health benefits as a result of their actions on our bodies. Let’s take a closer look at what researchers have found…

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #1: Powerful Anti-Cancer Fighters

Brewed for thousands of years as a medicinal tea in China, turkey tail mushroom (known scientifically as Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor) is used extensively in Asia to fight cancer.

One notable use is a turkey tail mushroom extract known as PSK (protein-bound Polysaccharide Krestin) that is widely used to boost the immune system when treating many types of cancer in Japan.

Multiple studies have confirmed that PSK prevents cancer cell growth with minimal adverse effects, while also simultaneously reducing side effects of standard anti-cancer therapy such as fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and pain.

For instance, PSK has been shown to act powerfully against lung cancer and strengthen the immune systems of lung cancer patients, helping them to cope better with the consequences of toxic and invasive anti-cancer treatment.

Additionally, PSK has been shown to ease tumor-associated symptoms, and extend lifespan in patients undergoing radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Along with all this, turkey tail mushroom extracts have also been found to:

• Slow breast cancer cell growth, reducing tumor weight by 36% and lowering metastasis to the lungs by 70.8% in a mouse model of metastatic breast cancer. [Note: metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the original area where it began to other areas in the body, usually via the lymphatic system or bloodstream. In this mouse model, breast cancer cells metastasized to the lungs.]
• Slow the growth of human esophageal cancer cells by reducing their survival time and increasing their rate of apoptosis (also known as programmed cell suicide).
• Target cancer stem cells, preventing the formation of prostate tumors in a mouse model of prostate cancer – with an incredible efficiency of 100 percent and no side-effects whatsoever!

Red reishi is another popular medicinal mushroom. Known scientifically as Ganoderma lucidum, this potent “mushroom of immortality” is known as ling zhi in Chinese and reishi in Japanese.

Reishi may help patients to beat cancer in multiple ways. First, it stimulates the immune system, helping the body fight more effectively against cancer.

Second, a bioactive compound known as canthaxanthin (and possibly others) in reishi have been shown to help slow down tumor growth. Third, beta glucan – another bioactive compound – helps immune cells to bind more effectively to tumor cells and kill them more easily.

Because of these powerful anti-cancer abilities shown by reishi in both laboratory research and clinical usage, the Japanese government officially recognizes it as an anti-cancer therapy.

However, if you’re thinking of adding a reishi supplement or extract to your daily regimen you should seek medical advice from a qualified healthcare practitioner as to the appropriate dose for your specific health condition. Doses of commercial reishi products can vary widely and may not align with the research dosages studied.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #2: Strengthening the Immune System

Along with helping to prevent abnormal cell growth, turkey tail mushroom extracts have been shown to help repair weakened immune systems in breast cancer patients after they had undergone standard chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

These mushroom extracts appear to do this by boosting the number and activity of natural killer (NK) cells and “cytotoxic T-cells,” which likely attack and kill off any remaining cancerous cells that are left after conventional anti-cancer therapies. [Note: NK cells are specialized immune cells that recognize and bind to tumor cells and virus-infected cells and kill them. Similarly, cytotoxic T-cells are a type of white blood cell that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected (especially with viruses), or cells that are damaged in other ways.]

Scientific research also shows that bioactive polysaccharide compounds in reishi mushrooms boost the immune system by increasing the number of macrophages. [Note: Macrophages are a type of white blood cell that digests cellular debris as well as foreign substances, bacteria, cancer cells, and anything else that cannot be identified as a healthy cell by our immune system.]

As already described above, a bioactive beta glucan compound in reishi helps immune cells bind more effectively to tumor cells and kill them more easily.

All of these immune-boosting actions of reishi have major implications for people suffering from bacterial and viral infections, as well as people with AIDS and other diseases that directly weaken their immune system. No wonder the patented turkey tail mushroom extract PSK (protein-bound Polysaccharide Krestin) has been widely used in Japan as a complementary immunotherapy for treating many different types of cancers since the early 1980s.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #3: Protection Against Heart Disease and Stroke

Reishi appears in studies to offer a remarkable level of protection against heart disease and stroke, because it supports the body against many risk factors for these conditions.

Health experts now believe that bioactive compounds in reishi known as ganoderic acids and others such as coumarin, mannitol, and polysaccharides act to:

• Lower triglyceride levels
• Remove excess cholesterol from blood
• Lower blood pressure (BP)
• Reduce platelet stickiness, preventing the formation of dangerous blood clots that can lead to heart attacks or strokes
• Help to correct arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms)

According to one study reported in the book Alternative Medicine to Heart Disease by Burton Goldberg in the late 90s, taking reishi extract three times a day for four weeks lowered blood pressure (BP) in 54 people with hypertension, who were otherwise unresponsive to medication.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #4: Fighting Disease-Causing Free Radicals

Oxidative stress and other forms of free radical-induced damage to cellular structures in our bodies are believed to increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (BP), diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other age-related conditions.

Free radicals are highly unstable chemical compounds which attack the nearest stable molecule and “steal” its electron. When the “attacked” molecule loses its electron in this way, it becomes a free radical itself, beginning a chain reaction.

If this process cascades, the growing numbers of free radicals can damage vital structures in your body such as the outer protective membrane of your body’s cells, cellular proteins, and even your DNA.

When you are exposed to excessive amounts of free radicals – for example, because of exposure to toxic chemicals, infections, and diseases – and your body’s detoxification systems are no longer able to cope, it can lead to the unhealthy situation known as “oxidative stress.”

Promisingly, a 2015 study published in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms showed that consumption of reishi extracts for 2 weeks was able to restore some of the innate antioxidant enzyme activity in a rat with diabetes.
[Note: Antioxidants are molecules which neutralize harmful free radicals and protect vital cellular structures in our bodies from their damaging actions. While many antioxidants are obtained naturally from the foods we eat, our body also contains innate antioxidant enzyme systems.]

Similarly, in a laboratory mouse experiment reported in the journal Scientific Reports in 2015, a polysaccharide peptide isolated from reishi was seen to counteract oxidative stress caused by kidney damage, leading to lower levels of free radicals known as “reactive oxygen species” (ROS) and improved kidney function.

Some health researchers suspect that reishi may not have antioxidant compounds of its own, but rather it stimulates production of a free radical fighter that already exists in our own bodies; the innate antioxidant enzyme system known as superoxide dismutase (SOD).

Similarly, scientific evidence indicates that the amazing mushroom cordyceps – known scientifically as Cordyceps sinensis – also has potent antioxidant activity, which is believed to be partly responsible for its purported anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #5: Managing Blood Sugar Levels

Cordyceps grows in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateau and has a very interesting, if slightly bizarre life cycle.

Its spores land on the caterpillars of a particular moth species and enter its body. The caterpillar then buries itself into the soil before it dies. In summer, the fungus emerges like a plant from the caterpillar’s head, looking like a thin, orange finger.

Multiple studies discussed in the textbook Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects (2nd edition) demonstrate that cordyceps can lower blood glucose levels. For instance, one study showed that consumption of a cordyceps extract known as CS-4 for 25 days increased insulin sensitivity, while reducing the insulin response to a carbohydrate challenge in normal, non-diabetic rats. These results indicate that CS-4 can potentially lower diabetes risk.

Similarly, in another study, normal rats given CS-4 for 17 days showed significant reductions in their fasting blood glucose and fasting plasma insulin levels.

While cordyceps did not affect fasting insulin levels in diabetic rats, they improved their weight, fasting blood glucose levels, and glucose tolerance (an indicator of diabetes risk) in these animals.

These and many other results from multiple studies indicate that cordyceps is likely to be useful in keeping blood sugar levels under control in patients suffering from diabetes.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #6: Helping to Manage Stress Effectively

Reishi is an adaptogen – one of many plant forms that help to balance, restore, and protect the body. Specifically, adaptogens enhance the body’s overall ability to cope more effectively with stress and resist its unwelcome consequences, perhaps by actions on the body’s adrenal system, which is responsible for stress management.

Adaptogens exert a normalizing and tonic influence, neither over-stimulating nor interfering with normal body function, and help to counter the effects of chronic stress, anxiety, and insomnia on our bodies.

Many herbs, including Chinese or Korean ginseng, ashwagandha (Indian ginseng), astragalus, licorice root, holy basil, and mushrooms such as cordyceps and reishi are known adaptogens.

The philosophy of Eastern medicine states that our bodies need to defend themselves against threats to their “equilibrium.” Physical threats include viruses and bacteria, while mental or emotional threats (including stress) lead to anxiety and other unpleasant emotions that depress the immune system and overall functioning of the body.

Whatever the threat, reishi’s reputation is that it helps the body keep its innate balance and defend against threats to its equilibrium. Since diseases like heart disease and cancer are also clear signs that the body is out of balance, practitioners of traditional forms of Eastern medicine believe that an equilibrium-enhancing remedy such as reishi can help to treat these and many other ailments.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #7: Enhancing Libido

Testosterone is necessary for normal sperm development. Cordyceps has traditionally been used for enhancing sexual function in many Eastern societies.

Evidence from laboratory experiments on animals confirms that cordyceps can both improve reproductive activity and restore impaired reproductive function.

Indeed, consumption of cordyceps has been shown to enhance libido and sexual activity, and restore impaired reproductive function in both men and women – likely by enhancing testosterone release in the body.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #8: Improving Exercise Performance

Cordyceps made international headlines after Chinese runners broke two world records by huge margins at the Asian Games in 1993. According to their coach, the secret to their remarkable athletic performance was the so-called caterpillar fungus, Cordyceps sinensis.

A 2010 study reported in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that supplementation with the cordyceps extract CS-4 for 12 weeks improved exercise performance and contributed to overall markers of wellness in 20 healthy elderly adults.

One way cordyceps likely improves physical abilities and stamina is because it contains adenosine – a critical component of ATP – thereby stimulating production of ATP, one of the primary sources of energy in the cells of our bodies.

A 2007 study out of Hong Kong found that higher production of ATP by cordyceps helped athletes maintain intense workouts while also extending the length of time they were active at a high intensity.

A number of studies have also shown that supplementing with cordyceps can lower heart rate, which explains why people say they can train harder for longer periods when taking cordyceps supplements.

Health Benefit of Mushrooms #9, #10 & #11

Japanese researchers have found that certain bioactive compounds present in reishi act as natural antihistamines, providing strong anti-allergic benefits.

If you suffer from muscle aches or arthritis, some health experts claim that reishi is as powerful and as effective as hydrocortisone for helping to relieve inflammation and pain, but with fewer side effects.

Finally, reishi mushrooms are traditionally believed to be able to calm the mind, along with improving memory, concentration, and focus which are important for combatting the effects of cognitive decline.

What’s the Best Way to Consume Mushrooms?

Mushrooms have long been used for both culinary and therapeutic purposes. They are available and used in many formats including fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and mushroom extracts.

If you love eating mushrooms for their nutritional benefits, you can learn more about the best way to cook mushrooms here. While not a high source of dietary fiber, as a food they are a good source of vitamins and (as we’ve discussed above) antioxidants and other compounds which have an astounding array of health benefits.

Brewed for thousands of years as a healing tea in China, the Chinese medicinal turkey tail mushroom – known scientifically as Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor – shows great promise as a major boon for cancer patients.

Emerging evidence shows that this multi-colored fungus, which grows widely in forests around the world, can help to protect cancer patients.

It has been shown to work in two ways:

1. by directly preventing cancer formation and growth
2. by boosting the immune systems that have been damaged as a result of cancer treatment.

Back in 1976, a Japanese company had already patented certain extracts of Coriolus versicolor under the name PSK and later PSP, which have since become recognized anti-cancer drugs in Japan.

Multiple studies and clinical trials have confirmed that PSP blocks cancer cell growth along with reducing treatment-related side effects such as fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and pain. PSP can also restore weakened immune systems in cancer patients.

In a 2012 clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), turkey tail mushroom extract was seen to restore the impaired immune systems of breast cancer patients after they had finished radiation therapy.

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a clinical trial allowing patients with advanced prostate cancer to take turkey tail extract along with conventional chemotherapy to assess the benefits of this combination.

Similarly, another clinical trial will test the effects of taking the extract along with a vaccine treatment in women with breast cancer.

Trametes Versicolor Extract and Lung Cancer: A Review

As stated already, an extract or extracts of Coriolus versicolor (aka Trametes versicolor) have been patented in Japan under the name Polysaccharide K, also known as PSK or Krestin. PSK is widely used in Japan as a complementary immunotherapy for treating many cancers, including lung cancer.

A systematic review of PSK’s safety and efficacy in lung cancer treatment was carried out in 2015, in which 28 studies were included for review and analysis.

Fifteen of 17 studies confirmed that PSK had anti-cancer effects by directly inhibiting tumors leading to less cancer growth and anti-metastatic effects, as well as via immunomodulation and boosting immune system activity. Metastasis is the ability of cancer cells to leave the area of the body they originally grew in and move to another area, starting a new tumor or multiple new tumors.

This review showed that both median survival and survival after 1, 2, and 5 years were noticeably better after PSK treatment. Immune parameters, blood function, body weight, and tumor-related symptoms such as fatigue and anorexia were all improved in lung cancer patients treated with PSK.

In summary, the authors concluded that PSK can stop the growth of lung cancers, improve immune function, reduce tumor-associated symptoms, and extend survival in lung cancer patients undergoing standard radiation and chemotherapy. They strongly advocate setting up larger randomized controlled trials to better understand the ability of PSK to treat lung cancer patients.

Turkey Tail Mushrooms and Immunomodulation in Breast Cancer

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy usually impair the immune system in cancer patients.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Bastyr University Research Institute wondered whether Coriolus versicolor extract could be used to restore the immune system and improve the health of women with breast cancer after they had undergone radiation therapy.

The study they published in 2012 shows that turkey tail mushroom extract can successfully complement conventional radiotherapy by increasing the activity of natural killer cells and “cytotoxic T-cells” – which likely attack and kill off any remaining cancerous cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells are specialized immune cells that can recognize and bind to certain tumor cells and virus-infected cells and kill them. Similarly, cytotoxic T-cells are a type of white blood cell that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected (especially with viruses), or cells that are damaged in other ways.

In this study, nine women with breast cancer were given either 3, 6, or 9 grams of turkey tail mushroom extract over a period of 4 weeks and their immune data was measured before and after radiation therapy.

This extract was reasonably well tolerated by these women. Their immune data showed that both their lymphocyte counts and functional activity of natural killer cells increased at daily doses of 6 and 9 grams. Further, the higher the dose, the greater the number of cytotoxic T-cells patrolling in their blood looking for cancer cells to kill.

This study showed that Coriolus versicolor extract is safe to give to women with breast cancer and that it can restore their impaired immune system after standard radiotherapy.

Turkey Tail Mushroom Extracts in Other Cancer Models

There are many examples of the effectiveness of Trametes versicolor extract in various models of cancer:

• A 2015 laboratory study showed that an extract of protein-bound polysaccharides isolated from turkey tail mushrooms significantly slowed the growth of breast cancer cells. Simultaneously, this extract also increased the number of blood lymphocytes – possibly by producing more of a protein known as interleukin-1-beta, known to stimulate lymphocytes.

• A 2014 study showed that Trametes versicolor extract reduced tumor weight by 36% and decreased lung metastasis by 70.8% in a mouse model of metastatic breast cancer. This extract was seen to stimulate the immune response and also protect against breast cancer-induced bone destruction after metastasis.

• An extract of Trametes versicolor known as polysaccharide-B markedly slowed the growth of human esophageal carcinoma cells by reducing their survival time and increasing their rate of apoptosis (programmed cell suicide).

• A study from the Queensland University of Technology showed that PSP targets prostate cancer stem cells and prevents the formation of prostate tumors in a mouse model of prostate cancer. In the words of the lead researcher, “In the past, other inhibitors have been shown to be up to 70 percent effective, but we’re seeing 100 percent of this tumor prevented from developing with PSP. Importantly, we did not see any side effects from the treatment.” PSP’s much greater effectiveness may be due to the fact that while conventional therapies target only cancer cells, PSP also destroys cancer stem cells which initiate cancer and cause its progression. In other words, PSP treatment may be able to completely prevent prostate tumor formation.
• According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Clinical studies of PSK in colorectal cancer have shown reduction in recurrence and improvement in OS [overall survival] with adjuvant use.”
• The NIH also notes that in three different clinical studies on patients with gastric cancer, patients who received PSK as part of their treatment had improved survival rates. In the first study, the overall 5-year survival was 67.9% (PSK) versus 61.8% for the control. In the second study with 262 participants the NIH noted that “Improved survival in the treatment group was clinically significant.” In the third small study of 21 patient, “Survival was improved significantly in treatment group.”

Conclusion

Turkey tail mushroom has a long-standing therapeutic use in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent times, various scientific studies have demonstrated that extracts of turkey tail mushroom (and reishi mushroom) help prevent the formation and growth of many different types of cancers. Additionally, they reduce treatment-related side effects and restore weakened immune systems in cancer patients who have been subjected to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.