Maitake Medicinal Mushroom – New Breast Cancer Treatment?

Maitake Medicinal Mushroom – New Breast Cancer Treatment? AUTHOR BRIDGET GREENWOOD maitake The powerful bioactive compounds from the medicinal mushroom Maitake—also known as Grifola frondosa or “dancing mushroom”—are being investigated for their anti-cancer potential. Could extracts of Maitake become part of the treatment for breast cancer in the future? Many people worldwide have lost a loved one to breast cancer. This cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and cases are increasing. As with most cancers, early detection of breast cancer is crucial to improve prognosis. While breast cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the treatments can have severe side effects which greatly reduce quality of life. Chemotherapy drugs can cause nausea and vomiting, for instance. Many people are turning to medicinal mushrooms to help fight the side effects of chemotherapy. But can medicinal mushrooms also help target the cancer cells directly? Researchers Alonso EN, Orozco M, et al, with the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina, developed a study into the D-Fraction of Maitake medicinal mushrooms. Maitake: fights breast cancer tumors in in vitro study Maitake is a common perennial fungus, which has long been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine to enhance the immune system. Maitake is rich in minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. It also contains many powerful compounds known as polysaccharides. The D-Fraction extracted from the mushroom is already proven to stimulate the immune system. In this study, Maitake was tested on human breast cancer cells in vitro. Results were promising. The breast cancer cells were suppressed by the Maitake in a dose-dependent manner. The mushroom modified the expression of specific genes, which resulted in an increase in cancer cell death—apoptosis. The medicinal mushroom extracts also inhibited cancer cell growth and proliferation, which are essential parts of any cancer treatment. The researchers concluded that Maitake D-Fraction could indeed become a potential new target for breast cancer treatment. Please go to this site to order Ganolife Gourmet Coffee enriched with Ganoderma, www.ganolifevo.com/wwammcafe.