Tag Archives: Turkey Tail mushroom

CIMER – Coriolus versicolor (mushroom) – MD Anderson Cancer Center Page 1

Mushrooms have traditionally been valued in Asia for their nutritional and medicinal qualities. The Coriolus versicolor or “Turkey Tail” mushroom has been investigated in numerous laboratory, animal and human clinical studies. Most of these studies have demonstrated that it does appear to have significant antimicrobial, antiviral and antitumor properties when used as a supplement to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Human trials have included randomization, a process that decreases bias, but only one has used blinding, which would make them even more protected against biases.

The anti-cancer and immune stimulating properties of Coriolus versicolor have been attributed to two extracts from its cultured mycelium (thread-like extensions). These extracts are both protein-bound polysaccharides known as polysaccharide K (PSK) and polysaccharide-peptide (PSP).  Hot water is required to extract these active components.

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Macrophage-stimulating activity of polysaccharides extracted from fruiting bodies of Coriolus versicolor (Turkey Tail Mushroom).

Jeong SC, Yang BK, Kim GN, Jeong H, Wilson MA, Cho Y, Rao KS, Song CH.

Department of Biotechnology, Daegu University, Gyungbuk, Korea.

Abstract

The macrophage-stimulating effect of Turkey Tail mushroom extracted from Coriolus versicolor (Turkey Tail mushroom) was investigated, and their effectiveness was compared with that of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The purified polysaccharide (CV-S2-Fr.I) of C. versicolor obtained by Sepharose CL-6B gel chromatography stimulated macrophage lysosomal enzyme activity by 250% at a concentration of 100 microg/mL, which was higher than that of LPS at the same concentration. When CV-S2-Fr.I was used in combination with interferon-gamma, there was a marked cooperative induction of nitric oxide production. However, CV-S2-Fr.I had no effect on nitric oxide production by itself. The proportion of C3-positive macrophages in the CV-S2-Fr.I group increased by 7.2-fold compared with the control group.

PMID: 16822202 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16822202