Tell Americans that a dish contains "mushrooms" and their minds automatically jump to button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), which have been grown commercially in the West since the 1600's. In contrast, individuals from Far East Asia are far more likely to jump to Shiitake as the most logical ingredient. Shiitake, which has only recently become a common household name in the West, has a long history of commercial cultivation in Asia.
Known alternately as Black Mushroom or Chinese Mushroom, wild Shiitake grows in Asia only. The name derives from the Shii Tree, its preferred host, although Shiitake may also grow on oaks and beeches. Shiitake has been cultivated in China and Japan for a thousand years.
Increasingly recognized in the West as a culinary mushroom, few westerners are yet aware of the medical applications of Shiitake. In Asia, it has a long tradition as a medicinal mushroom going back to the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) and the Chinese physician Wu Juei, who recommended it for conditions of the liver, respiratory and circulatory systems. Shiitake is also the most commonly studied mushroom in modern medical research, with special focus on its anti-tumor [94] and anti-viral properties. [93]
The benefit of using Shiitake mycelium extract as opposed to the mushroom fruit body is that there are compounds in the mycelium that don't exist in the fruiting body or that may be in much higher concentration in the mycelium.
The most researched Shiitake extract is known as LEM, short for Lentinula Edodes Mycelia. (Shiitake's Latin name is Lentinula edodes.) Research has found LEM to enhance the immune system, [95, 96, 97] especially against bacterial infection. [98, 99] It's also been reported to be anti-tumoral. [100] A 2005 study published findings that it killed melanoma cells while sparing non-diseased tissue. [101]
A famous polysaccharide isolated from Shiitake is known as Lentinan, deriving its name from Lentinula. Lentinan has been shown to stimulate the natural cancer fighting mechanisms of the human immune system [102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110] and is used in Asia as a cancer-drug, administered intravenously.
When rice is fermented with Shiitake mycelium, another group of medicinal compounds result. Known as arabinoxylanes, these compounds show great promise against viruses. [111, 112, 113]
In particular, type 1 herpes simplex virus [114] and HIV [115, 116, 117] have been shown to respond to Shiitake extracts in clinical trials, although one study found that Lentinan by itself - isolated from the other active compounds of Shiitake - had no noticeable effect on HIV replication. [25]
Furthermore, other studies have shown that Shiitake extract may be beneficial in the treatment of Candida, [118] chronic fatigue syndrome, [119] and to prevent septic shock. [120]
And last but not least, in his book Mycelium Running, foremost U.S. medicinal mushroom expert Paul Stamets also lists the following areas where Shiitake has been reported as having a therapeutic effect: Blood sugar; blood pressure; kidney support; cholesterol; liver health; stress; sexual dysfunction; breast cancer; prostate cancer; liver cancer. [134]
Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a licensed medical practitioner before using any herb (or mushroom) for medicinal purposes.
Credit: Thank you to Paul Stamets for source material.
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