Shiitake Extract Used in Asia as Cancer Medication

In America and Europe, the everyday “food mushroom” is the common button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), commercially cultivated in France since the 1600′s. In the Far East, however, the likewise centuries old cultivation of gourmet mushrooms has been primarily focused on an entirely different species – the Shiitake. Only in the last few decades has Shiitake become a common household name in the West.

Known alternately as Black Mushroom or Chinese Mushroom, wild Shiitake grows in Asia only. The name derives from the Shii Tree, its preferred host, although Shiitake may also grow on oaks and beeches. Shiitake has been cultivated in China and Japan for a thousand years.

What is less known in the West is that in the form of Shiitake extract, this is also the most studied medicinal mushroom of the Orient. The primary focus of research has been on the anti-viral [93] and anti-tumoral [94] properties.

The preferred part of Shiitake to use medicinally is the mycelium (the “roots”) because they contain compounds that either don’t exist in the fruit body (“mushroom”), or are much more concentrated in the mycelium.

In fact, the most commonly researched Shiitake extract is known as Lentinula Edodes Mycelia extract, or LEM for short. (Lentinula edodes is the Latin name for Shiitake.) LEM has been reported in various research papers as being anti-bacterial, [98, 99] boosting the immune system, [95, 96, 97] and being anti-tumoral. [100] A study on melanoma found that it killed the mutated melanoma cells but caused no harm to cells that were healthy. [101]

Another active compound of Shiitake extract that has been much studied is Lentinan; a protein-free polysaccharide, so named after Lentinula, the Latin genus name for Shiitake. Lentinan does not directly kill tumors but has been shown to stimulate the tumor fighting mechanisms in the body of test subjects, [102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110] and is in fact in use in Asia as an injected cancer medication.

When rice is fermented with Shiitake mycelium, another group of medicinal compounds result. Known as arabinoxylanes, these compounds show great promise against viruses. [111, 112, 113]

Specifically herpes simplex virus type 1 [114] and more importantly HIV have responded to Shiitake extracts in several studies. [115, 116, 117] However, the previously mentioned Lentinan polysaccharide, by itself, has no significant effect on the replication of HIV. [25]

Other studies worth a brief mention have reported positive findings in the use of Shiitake extract to prevent septic shock, [120] and to treat Candida [118] and chronic fatigue syndrome. [119]

In his book Mycelium Running, medicinal mushroom expert Paul Stamets also lists the following areas where research has shown Shiitake extract to have a beneficial effect: Blood Pressure; Blood Sugar; Cholesterol; Kidney Tonic; Liver Tonic; Sexual Potentiator; Stress; Breast Cancer; Liver Cancer; Prostate Cancer. [134]

Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any herb (or mushroom) except as advised by a licensed medical practitioner.

Credit: Thank you to Paul Stamets for source material.