Maitake — Grifola Frondosa — Improves Chemotherapy

Maitake — Grifola Frondosa — Improves Chemotherapy AUTHOR BRIDGET GREENWOOD medicinal mushrooms and cancer The medicinal mushroom maitake has already been proved to contain several powerful bioactive compounds. A Japanese study investigated the D-fraction extracted from maitake, and found that maitake also improves a chemotherapy drug. Could maitake be used to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy in the future? There have been many clinical trials evaluating the powerful effects of medicinal mushrooms. Maitake, also known as Grifola frondosa, has been part of the traditional medicine kit for centuries. Maitake is a popular culinary as well as medicinal mushroom, and contains a variety of bioactive compounds which improve heart health, lower blood glucose levels, and even kill cancer cells. Researchers are therefore seeking to develop new treatments from this ancient medicine. Improvements in cancer treatments is a key goal for many research scientists. Cancer is often treated with chemotherapy, strong drugs which target rapidly proliferating cells, such as cancer cells. However, the chemotherapy drugs also target healthy yet rapidly-growing cells. This is why some chemotherapy treatments cause hair loss, because hair cells grow very rapidly. While in many cases chemotherapy is a successful treatment, curing or caging the cancer, the severe side effects can reduce quality of life. Researchers with Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Kobe, Japan, developed an animal study to see if maitake extracts would be able to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs. They hoped this could lead to cancer patients being given lower doses of chemotherapy, with the same anti-cancer results. Animal study proves maitake improves chemotherapy tumor 150x150 Maitake Grifola Frondosa Improves Chemotherapy Maitake medicinal mushroom may complement chemotherapy with cancer care Researchers Kodama N, Murata Y, et al, used D-Fraction, a polysaccharide extracted from maitake. They tested the maitake along with an existing chemotherapy drug, mitomycin-C, on mice with cancer tumors. Results showed that a combination of reduced doses chemotherapy drug along with maitake still had an effective anti-cancer effect. The maitake improved the effectiveness of the animals’ own immune system, leading to a much-improved result. The study concluded that maitake could become a potential clinical benefit for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Please go to this site to order Ganolife Gourmet Coffee enriched with Ganoderma, www.ganolifevo.com/wwammcafe.