Primary Uses of Medicinal Fungi
The following list gives an indication of some of the main mushroom species with major medicinal benefits. The list is far from complete demonstrating the enormous amount of research into medicinal mushrooms, particularly in the past decade or so.
Those in bold are either particularly well studied, or have potent effect.
Fungal Materia Medica
Treatment of Cancer with Fungi
Probably the most important and promising use of medicinal Fungi is in Cancer treatment. A number of Medicinal Fungi have shown potent or broad-spectrum Anti-Cancer effects with direct inhibition of tested Cancer cell lines. Most of the medicinal Fungi, especially the Polypores, have shown immunomodulatory and immune stimulating effects largely due to their polysaccharide content, and this is direcly although not solely related to their positive effects in Cancer therapy.
The following is a brief list and generally related to tested cancer cell lines. In some cases, only 1–3 cancer cell lines were used to test Anti-Cancer effects. Therefore this does not necessarily mean the effects will translate in clinical treatment. It also means that various other cancers may be used by these mushrooms other than those listed. Nevertheless, a number of these mushrooms have shown potent effect against various cell lines, and some have been widely used in cancer treatment in countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Some Fungi extracts have been approved for use as an adjunct in Cancer therapy in these countries. Polysaccharide-K (PSK), marketed as Krestin, derived from Trametes versicolor is one example.
Resources & References
The following list gives an indication of some of the main mushroom species with major medicinal benefits. The list is far from complete demonstrating the enormous amount of research into medicinal mushrooms, particularly in the past decade or so.
Those in bold are either particularly well studied, or have potent effect.
See also
Fungal Materia Medica
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Anti-bacterial Those effective against gram + are marked with (+) Those effective against gram – are marked with (–) Agaricus arvensis (+, –) Agaricus bisporus (+, –) Agaricus campestris (+, –) Agaricus xanthoderma Armillaria mellea (+, –) Boletus edulis (+, –) Calvatia gigantea (+, –) Cantharellus cibarius Clitocybe alexandri (+, –) Dendropolyporus umbellatus Flammulina velutipes (+) Fomes formentarius Fomitopsis pimicola (+) Ganoderma lucidum (+, –) Ganoderma applanatum(+, –) (Broad spectrum)Ganoderm pfeifferi (+, –) Ganoderma recinaceum Grifola frondosa Hericium coralloides (+, –) Lactarius deliciosus (+, –) Laetiporus sulphureus (+, –) Laricifomes officinalis (Agarikon) Lentinus edodes (+, –) Morchella esculenta (+, –) Phellinus linteus (+, –) Piptoporus betulinus Pleurotus australis Schizophyllum commune Trametes versicolor (+) Antiviral Agarius blazei (Hepatitis B) Agaricus subrufescens Flammulina velutipes Ganoderma applanatum Ganoderma lucidum(Hepatitis B, HSV-1, HSV-2, HIV)Ganoderm pfeifferi (HSV-1, Influenza A) Grifola frondosa (inc. Influenza) Lactarius piperatus Laricifomes officinalis(Agarikon) (Influenza)Lentinus edodes (inc Influenza) Polyporus umbellatus (Hepatitis B) Trametes versicolor (inc. HIV, Influenza) Umbilicaria esculenta Xanthoria parietina Anti-fungal Agaricus bisporus (Candida) Armillaria mellea (Candida) Cantharellus cibarius (Candida) Flammulina velutipes Fomitopsis pimicola Ganoderma lucidum Grifola frondosa Lactarius deliciosus (Candida) Laetiporus sulphureus (Candida) Lentinus edodes Phellinus linteus (Candida) Piptoporus betulinus Trametes versicolor Volvopluteus gloiocephalus Anti-inflammatory Flammulina velutipes Ganoderma lucidum Inonotus obliquus Lentinus edodes Schizophyllum commune Tremella fuciformis Antioxidant Agaricus campestris Auricularia auricular‐ judae Boletus edulis Cordyceps sinensis Ganoderma lucidum Hericium erinaceus Phellinus linteus Polyporus tenuiculus Schizophyllum commune Trametes versicolor |
Anti-histamine / Anti-allergy Agaricus subrufescens Ganoderma lucidum Immune enhancing Agaricus subrufescens Grifola frondosa Inonotus obliquus Pleurotus eryngii Polyporus umbellatus Phellinus linteusSparassis crispa Tremella mesentericaImmunomodulating Agaricus bisporus Dendropolyporus umbellatus Flammulina velutipes Ganoderma applanatum |
Treatment of Cancer with Fungi
Probably the most important and promising use of medicinal Fungi is in Cancer treatment. A number of Medicinal Fungi have shown potent or broad-spectrum Anti-Cancer effects with direct inhibition of tested Cancer cell lines. Most of the medicinal Fungi, especially the Polypores, have shown immunomodulatory and immune stimulating effects largely due to their polysaccharide content, and this is direcly although not solely related to their positive effects in Cancer therapy.
The following is a brief list and generally related to tested cancer cell lines. In some cases, only 1–3 cancer cell lines were used to test Anti-Cancer effects. Therefore this does not necessarily mean the effects will translate in clinical treatment. It also means that various other cancers may be used by these mushrooms other than those listed. Nevertheless, a number of these mushrooms have shown potent effect against various cell lines, and some have been widely used in cancer treatment in countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Some Fungi extracts have been approved for use as an adjunct in Cancer therapy in these countries. Polysaccharide-K (PSK), marketed as Krestin, derived from Trametes versicolor is one example.
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Broad Spectrum Anti-cancer Usually multiple effects including immunostimulating. Those marked with ‘X’ have been developed into accepted or license Cancer therapies in certain countries. Agaricus subrufescens Fomes formentarius Ganoderma lucidum X Inonotus obliquus X Laricifomes officinalis (Agarikon) Schizophyllum commune X Trametes versicolor X Anti-tumor Agaricus bisporus Agaricus blazei Agaricus subrufescens Amanita virosa Astraeus hygrometricus Auricularia auricula-judas Coprinellus micaceus Clavariadelphus truncatus Cladonia furcata Clitocybe alexandri Cordyceps militaris Dendropolyporus umbellatus Flammulina velutipes Fomes formentarius Fomitopsis pimicola Ganoderma applanatum Ganoderma lucidum Grifola frondosa Hericium erinaceus Inonotus obliquus Laricifomes officinalis (Agarikon) Lentinus edodes Leucopaxillus giganteus Meripilus giganteus Omphalotus olearius Phellinus linteus Phellinus rimosus Pholiota spumosa Piptoporus betulinus Pleurotus ostreatus Polyporus umbellatus Schizophyllum commune Shiitake Trametes versicolor Tremella fuciformis Volvariella volvacea Bladder Cancer Phellinus Linteus Polyporus umbellatus Poria cocos Brain Cancer Grifola frondosa Inonotus obliquus Breast Cancer Fomes formentarius Ganoderma lucidum (Estrogen dependent) Grifola frondosa Lentinus edodes Phellinus linteus (Estrogen dependent) Trametes versicolor Cervical, Ovarian, Endometrial Agaricus blazei Agaricus subrufescens (Ovary, Endometrial) PSK (Ovary, Endometrial) Schizophyllum commune (licensed for use in Japan for Cervical Cancer with good results in Stage II but not stage III) |
Colorectal Cancer Agaricus sylvaticus Fomes formentarius Ganoderma lucidum Lentinus edodes Trametes versicolor Esophageal Cancer Fomes formentarius Trametes versicolor Gastric Cancer Fomes formentarius Lentinus edodes PSK Trametes versicolor Hepatic Cancer Agaricus subrufescens Ganoderma lucidum Grifola frondosa Lentinus edodes Phellinus Linteus Polyporus umbellatus Leukemia Agaricus subrufescens Cordyceps Fomes formentarius Ganoderma lucidum Grifola frondosa Poria cocos PSK Trametes versicolor Lung Cancer Agaricus subrufescens Fomes formentarius Ganoderma lucidum Grifola frondosa Laricifomes officinalis (Agarikon) Phellinus Linteus Trametes versicolor Lymphoma Ganoderma lucidum Trametes versicolor Myeloma Agaricus blazei (82%) +Hericium erinaceus (14.7%) + Grifola frondosa (2.9%) Pancreatic Cancer Ganoderma lucidum Omphalotus olearius (cytotoxic component from) Poria cocos Prostate Cancer Agaricus bisporus Agaricus subrufescens Ganoderma lucidum Flammulina velutipes (Androgen dependent) Lentinus edodes Phellinus Linteus Pleurotus ostreatus (Androgen dependent) Trametes versicolor |
Resources & References
- PubMed Central (Research Database)
- Paul Stamets, https://fungi.com/
- Medicinal Mushrooms: Their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments, Smith, Rowan and Sullivan, May 2002
- Healing with Medicinal Mushrooms, Dr Walter Ardigo, 2017
- Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhou et al, Springer, 2011
- Inonotus obliguus as medical fungi in Russia, Zhang et al., Int J Trad Chin Med, March 2019, Vol. 41, No.3
- Medicinal mushrooms as an attractive new source of natural compounds for future cancer therapy
- The Pharmacological Potential of Mushrooms
- Medicinal mushrooms: Towards a new horizon