Medicinal mushrooms help cancer patients

Mon 15 Aug 2005 12:29 pm CST
WASHINGTON (myDNA News)

A major study conducted by Cancer Research UK shows that medicinal mushrooms are capable of reducing the debilitating effects of traditional chemo-therapeutic drugs. Studies show that a combination of Reishi and Cordyceps extracts had beneficial effects on the quality of life for some advanced cancer patients.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy can damage or weaken a patient's immunological defenses. Cancer patients are in danger of infections that can invade their systems because the therapy designed to kill pathogenic cells also kills protective immune cells.

Active compounds in Reishi cause an increased response of the immune system to foreign cells, whether bacteria, viruses, or tumor cells. The author of the study said that "It was evident from clinical trials that Reishi extract significantly enhanced the immune systems of the elderly people taking it." Reishi is much more researched than Cordycps but Cancer Research UK says that "Cordyceps may be useful for cancer patients due to its enhancement of cell-mediated immunity, oxygen free radical scavenging, and support for cellular bioenergy systems."

Reishi has been the most used medicinal herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2000 years. It contains over 200 active ingredients and compounds that are the most biologically active obtainable from any play source.

Studies in Japan and Brazil suggest that regular consumption over prolonged periods reduces the levels of cancer incidence. Cancer Research UK also found that medicinal mushrooms can have a cancer preventative effect.

The ability of mushroom compounds to modulate so many immune cells may be due to their structural diversity and variability. Polysaccharides from medicinal mushrooms have the highest capacity for carrying biological information and the greatest potential for structural variability.