The Cancer-Fighting Qualities Of Mushrooms

Research shows there are thousands of semiessential, nonvitamin factors in plant foods that protect against diseases. Many of these compounds, called phytonutrients, appear to slow, stop or reverse the multiple pathological processes involved in cancer development. Their disease-fighting potential is so promising that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., has allocated millions of dollars to find, isolate and study such phytonutrients.

Certain medicinal mushrooms from Asia may be among the best examples of foods containing these cancer-fighting nutrients. It is estimated there are 100,000 different kinds of mushrooms, of which 700 are used for food. Approximately 50 species appear to have some medicinal value--each with its own unique chemistry.

In the United States, mushrooms are underrated, if not regarded with suspicion. Many people mistakenly believe that mushrooms contribute little to health, when in fact they are rich sources of minerals, vitamin D (ergosterol), thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), and niacin (B3) as well as all essential amino acids; while still being low in fat and calories.¹ Only recently have some of the more exotic varieties appeared in markets; shiitake, portobello, enoki, oyster and porcini are now popular gourmet cuisine ingredients.

In Japan, hundreds of mushroom species have been studied during the past 20 years. Most of the medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, shiitake and maitake show a common property of enhancing immune function by stimulating cell-mediated immunity. Simply put, such mushrooms seem to turn on cells in the immune sytem, called T-cells, that appear to have significant cancer-fighting properties. In fact, three different anticancer drugs extracted from mushrooms have been approved by the Japanese equivalent of FDA--the Health and Welfare Ministry. These three are lentinan, derived from shiitake; schizophyllan, derived from suehirotake; and PSK, derived from kawaratake. PSK, sold in Europe and Japan, is the best-selling cancer drug in the world. In Japan, only 30 percent of cancer treatment includes radiation, chemotherapy and surgery.² Despite research and Asia's long history of using medicinal mushrooms, U.S. government officials still have not moved on human trials.

Reishi Reishi (rai-SHI; Ganoderma lucidium) meets all the qualifications of being both a tonic and an adaptogen. A tonic strengthens and invigorates organs, and an adaptogen helps the body adapt to stress by readjusting altered body conditions. In China, many pharmacological, chemical and biochemical studies have been conducted with reishi.

Reishi appears to strengthen the immune system and improve overall health. Specifically, it improves or prevents a variety of diseases and conditions including viral hepatitis, allergies, insomnia, neurasthenia (fatigue due to exhaustion of the nervous system) as well as some types of cancer.³ It is well established that reishi and other similar mushrooms such as shiitake and maitake can significantly lower serum cholesterol and thin the blood by reducing platelet stickiness, as aspirin does.⁴ Reishi has also been clinically demonstrated to alleviate high blood pressure in humans.⁵ Research shows it is not likely to have a toxic effect in humans even when large quantities (350 g/day, between 40-300 times the therapeutic dose) are consumed for 30 days.⁶

Shiitake The shiitake (shi-TAK-ke) mushroom (Lentinus edodes) is closely related to reishi. "Take" is Japanese for mushroom and "shii" refers to the kind of chestnut tree on which the mushroom commonly grows. Shiitake is Japan's largest agricultural export and is now the most popular and most cultivated exotic mushroom in the world. In China, shiitake has a history that dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). The mushroom was used not only as a food but was taken as a remedy for upper respiratory diseases, poor blood circulation, liver trouble, exhaustion and weakness, and to boost chi, or life energy. It was also believed to prevent premature aging.⁷

Today the shiitake is recognized for its antitumor action and is the most researched mushroom in regard to its immunologic activity. The initial antitumor research was performed in 1969 by Tetsuro Ikekawa at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., along with colleagues at the National Cancer Center Research Institute in Tokyo. The researchers found that water extracts of shiitake and several other mushrooms collected in the wild produced high rates of tumor inhibition in mice (72 percent to 92 percent).⁸ Ikekawa later identified a polysaccharide in shiitake called lentinan as having powerful antitumor activity.

Maitake Maitake (my-TAH-kay; Grifola frondosa) is a mushroom highly regarded in Japan for its medicinal and culinary properties. In Japanese herbology, it is recommended to strengthen the body and improve overall health. People suffering from serious illnesses will travel long distances in the wild to acquire this highly-prized giant mushroom. Maitake often reaches 20 inches in diameter at the base and a single cluster can weigh as much as 100 pounds.

Maitake has been cultivated since the mid-1980s, and its availability has enabled mycologists and pharmacologists to study its medicinal properties. The studies show maitake extracts protect against hepatitis,⁹ inhibit tumors, and are effective in regulating blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and obesity.¹⁰ A polysaccharide known as beta-glucan, which activates immune cells, is believed to be largely responsible for maitake's antitumor effects.

Maitake's antitumor activity is surprisingly potent and may be superior to current mushroom-derived anticancer drugs. In one experiment, maitake produced an 86 percent shrinkage in tumors in mice compared to both reishi mushrooms (with 5 percent shrinkage) and lentinan (54 percent) and PSK (7 percent).¹¹

Recent studies of maitake have used a "D-fraction," which is the optimally extracted form of beta-glucan. In 1994, Hiroaki Nanba, Ph.D., professor of Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Japan, presented a poster at the Adjuvant Nutrition in Cancer Treatment Symposium in San Diego. His study compared maitake D-fraction with mitomycin-C (MMC), a chemotherapeutic drug. With just a small dose (1 mg/kg/day), the maitake extract produced an 85 percent tumor shrinkage in mice compared to 30 percent with MMC (.5 mg/kg/day). When he combined the two agents in half doses he was able to achieve an astonishing 99 percent tumor shrinkage after 14 days. (Note: This study will be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1997.)

The symposium-sponsor, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, with hospitals in Chicago, Los Angeles and Tulsa, Okla., is now undertaking clinical double-blind placebo tests using maitake D-fraction combined with chemotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Data collected from 250 cancer patients indicate that side effects from chemotherapy, such as nausea and hair loss, are significantly reduced by maitake.

Maitake is also showing promising results with the HIV virus. In vitro studies indicate that its extract was able to prevent destruction of T-cells by HIV by as much as 97 percent.¹² This is important because a person's T-cell count is often an indicator of the progression of HIV toward full-blown AIDS. This type of anti-HIV activity was also confirmed in 1991, when Japanese research was presented to NCI researchers. As a result, many doctors are now including maitake as part of their treatment for cancer, HIV/AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome and other immune-related health problems.

Maitake is available fresh, dried, or as tea, pills and liquid extracts. The usual tablet recommendation is 1 to 2 g daily for preventive purposes and 3 to 5 g therapeutically. Dried reishi, shiitake and maitake mushrooms are first soaked and then added to soups or recipes.

Ken Babal, C.N., is a consulting nutritionist and a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Certified Nutritionists. He also has been a guest speaker and co-host on radio and television programs. Babal is staff nutritionist for Erewhon Natural Foods Market in Los Angeles and teaches nutrition at the Southern California School of Culinary Arts.

REFERENCES
1. Jones, K. Shiitake, The Healing Mushroom: 2. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1995.

2. Quillan, P. Beating Cancer With Nutrition: xvi. Tulsa, OK: Nutrition Times Press, 1994.

3. Lucas, R. Miracle Medicine Herbs: 7-8. West Nyack, NY: Parker Pub. Co., 1991.

4. Weiner, M. "Herbs From Asia," The Herbal Healthline, 1(4): 12.

5. Jones, loc. cit., p. 26.

6. Weiner, loc. cit.

7. Lucas, loc. cit.

8. Ikekawa, T., et al. "Antitumor activity of aqueous extracts of edible mushrooms," Cancer Research, 29: 734-35, 1969.

9. Hobbs, C. Medicinal Mushrooms: 111. Santa Cruz, Calif.: Botanica Press, 1995.

10. Cichoke, A. "Maitake: The king of mushrooms," Townsend Letter For Doctors, 130: 432-3, May 1994.

11. Nanba, H. "Anti-tumor activity of orally administered D-fraction from maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa)," J of Naturopathic Med, 4(1): 10-15, 1993.

12. Cichoke, A., loc. cit.

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