Yun Zhi, commonly known as coriolus versicolor, is a wonderful remedy for health and healing. Yun Zhi’s shelf-like fruiting bodies form dense, overlapping clusters on tree trunks. The mushroom caps have plush velvety surfaces and are coloured in varying shades of brown or gray, with a distinctive alternating-band pattern of light and dark colours. Many international journals support the positive effects of Yun Zhi on health. Nowadays, many medical and nutritional studies find that the key active ingredient of Yun Zhi, polysaccharides, has greatly contribute to, relieving pain, improve immune functions, reduced anti- asphyxia, and enhance cell regeneration. According to experiments, polysaccharides can also help promote anti-tumors without negative side effects.
Contains amino acids, minerals, and other nutritionals to maintain health
Enhances immune function; balances the endocrine system
Helps to relieve allergies and pains
Reduces blood sugar to normal levels
Enhances the function of the liver, helps to detoxify organs
Improves the digestive system, addresses constipation
Helps to regenerate useful cells, improves the elasticity of skin
Greatly contributes to produce anti-tumor substances
Cloud mushroom contains several saccharides including polysaccharide peptide (PSP) and polysaccharide-K (PSK, krestin). The protein bound polysaccharides have been found to be immune-modulating and anti-tumor, and their polypeptide moieties are rich in aspartic acid and glutamic acid. By gas chromatography and HPLC, PSP has proved that in addition to glucose, it also contains five other monosaccharides – mannose, xylose, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. The polysaccharide peptides can be found in the mycelium, while the fruiting body mainly contains polysaccharides
Recent evidence suggested that prostate cancer stem/progenitor cells (CSC) are responsible for cancer initiation as well as disease progression. Unfortunately, conventional therapies are only effective in targeting the more differentiated cancer cells and spare the CSCs. Here, we report that PSP, an active component extracted from the mushroom Turkey tail (also known as Coriolus versicolor), is effective in targeting prostate CSCs. We found that treatment of the prostate cancer cell line PC-3 with PSP led to the down-regulation of CSC markers (CD133 and CD44) in a time and dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, PSP treatment not only suppressed the ability of PC-3 cells to form prostaspheres under non-adherent culture conditions, but also inhibited their tumorigenicity in vivo, further proving that PSP can suppress prostate CSC properties. To investigate if the anti-CSC effect of PSP may lead to prostate cancer chemoprevention, transgenic mice (TgMAP) that spontaneously develop prostate tumors were orally fed with PSP for 20 weeks. Whereas 100% of the mice that fed with water only developed prostate tumors at the end of experiment, no tumors could be found in any of the mice fed with PSP, suggesting that PSP treatment can completely inhibit prostate tumor formation. Our results not only demonstrated the intriguing anti-CSC effect of PSP, but also revealed, for the first time, the surprising chemopreventive property of oral PSP consumption against prostate cancer.
Polysaccharopeptide (PSP) isolated from the edible mushroom Coriolus versicolor was tested for its potential as an anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) compound in a series of in vitro assays. It demonstrated inhibition of the interaction between HIV-1 gp 120 and immobilized CD4 receptor (IC50=150 microgram/ml), potent inhibition of recombinant HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (IC50=6.25 microgram/ml), and inhibited a glycohydrolase enzyme associated with viral glycosylation. These properties, coupled with its high solubility in water, heat-stability and low cytotoxicity, make it a useful compound for further studies on its possible use as an anti-viral agent in vivo.
Coriolus versicolor extract
An extract derived from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor, containing polysaccharide K (PSK) and polysaccharidepeptide (PSP), with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities. Coriolus versicolor extract has been shown to stimulate the production of lymphocytes and cytokines, such as interferons and interleukins, and may exhibit antioxidant activities. However, the precise mechanism of action(s) of this agent is unknown. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
Breast cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in the world (1), and it is the commonest cancer amongst women (1,2). The mortality of breast cancer is low (1), however, because of its high incidence and the increasing global trend (1,3,4), it results in medical costs worldwide estimated to be more than.
Coriolus mushroom is a fungus. People have used the fruiting body and other parts as folk medicine for a long time. Recently, researchers have started to isolate and identify substances in coriolus that might act like pharmaceutical drugs. Two of these substances are polysaccharide peptide (PSP) and polysaccharide krestin (PSK). Scientists think these chemicals might be able to fight cancer and boost the immune system. Coriolus mushroom, PSP, and PSK are used for stimulating the immune system; treating herpes, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), hepatitis, and pulmonary disorders; reducing phlegm; improving bodybuilding results; increasing energy; curing ringworm and a skin condition called impetigo; treating upper respiratory, urinary, and digestive tract infections; curing liver disorders including hepatitis; reducing the toxic effects and pain of chemotherapy and radiation therapy; increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy; prolonging life and raising the quality of life of cancer patients; and increasing appetite.
While there are many types of mushrooms, the basic lifecycle of most mushrooms is similar. Mature mushroom fruit bodies release millions
of spores, which germinate to produce hyphae. Different hyphae fuse together to form a network of threads called mycelium. Mycelium then grow to produce mature fruit bodies and the mushroom life cycle starts again.
Currently, extracts of Coriolus versicolor called polysaccharide-K (PSK) and polysaccharopeptide (PSP) are under study as immune stimulants for use alongside chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. These two related substances, made from slightly different strains of the fungus, are thought to act as “biological response modifiers,” meaning that they affect the body’s response to cancer.
PSP has been shown to manifest immunomodulatory and anticancer properties in both pre-clinical experiments and clinical trials. It has been
shown to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and has been used as an adjunct medical modality to conventional cancer treatment. Experiments suggest that PSP can boost the immune system and alleviate the symptoms of chemotherapy.