Medicinal Mushrooms: a Treasure Chest

Medicinal Mushrooms: a Treasure Chest AUTHOR BRIDGET GREENWOOD Medicinal mushrooms and cancer Medicinal mushrooms, which have been used in traditional medicines for centuries, are now being scrutinized for their potential cancer-killing properties. Could medicinal mushrooms become a weapon in the war on cancer? Medicinal mushrooms are becoming very popular health supplements, in addition to being healthy culinary ingredients. But can they also be developed into anti-cancer drugs? Many scientists hope so. Other now-common drugs were also synthesized from natural sources. Aspirin is perhaps the most famous, originally synthesized from willow bark. The chemotherapy drug Taxol was developed from the bark of the Pacific yew tree. Will medicinal mushrooms lead to even more cancer treatments? Dr Kat Arney of Cancer Research UK says “Mushrooms are…a treasure chest that needs to be opened.” Dr Arney, interviewed in the Guardian newspaper, is referring to the numerous bioactive compounds in medicinal mushrooms, many of which are undergoing clinical studies. Medicinal mushrooms: potential cancer treatments Because medicinal mushrooms are so complex, they must not be seen as a magic bullet to instantly cure cancer, but could potentially become part of new cancer treatments. However, simply consuming the mushroom may not mean its anti-cancer properties will work. The compounds must often directly attack the cancer cells, which they may not be able to if they are in the digestive system. But drugs developed from medicinal mushrooms are being researched with positive results. Indeed, several clinical trials have proved the anti-cancer effects of reishi, maitake, and Agaricus blazei Murrill, to name just a few. In these trials compounds such as polysaccharides were extracted from the fruiting body of the medicinal mushrooms. These bioactive compounds were tested on cancer cells in laboratory conditions. In addition to being a potential source of cancer-killing drugs, medicinal mushrooms are currently often taken as supplements to improve the effects of chemotherapy drugs, and to reduce their harsh side effects. For example, an extract of shiitake is a very popular complementary and alternative medicine in Japan. While taken in addition to conventional cancer therapy, the shiitake extract reportedly improved quality of life for patients. Please go to this site to order Ganolife Gourmet Coffee enriched with Ganoderma, www.ganolifevo.com/wwammcafe.