Maitake Mushroom Profile
Also known as- Grifola frondosa, Hen of the Woods, Sheep's Head Mushroom.
Introduction
Maitake is a Japanese mushroom closely related to polyporus used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The word Maitake is literally translated from Japanese as "dancing mushroom," so named because in ancient times people who found Maitake could exchange it for its weight in silver, leading to their dancing in celebration. Maitake is recognized by its small, overlapping tongue- of fan-shaped caps, usually fused together at the base of a host tree stump or on tree roots.
Constituents
Complex immunostimulant polysaccharides, starch, protein, water.
Parts Used
The whole mushroom.
Typical Preparations
Added to cooking, teas, tinctures, powders, encapsulations.
Summary
Maitake has proven itself to be an effective cancer fighter. In laboratory tests, powdered Maitake increased the activity of three types of immune cells-macrophages, natural killer (NIK) cells, and T cells by 140, 186, and 160 percent, respectively. A Chinese clinical study established that Maitake treatment reduces the recurrence of bladder surgery from 65 to 33 percent. Researchers have found that Maitake, when combined with the standard chemotherapy drug mitomycin (Mutamycin), inhibits the growth of breast caner cells, even after metastasis.
Maitake also protects the liver. Chinese doctors conducted a controlled trial with thirty-two patients who had chronic hepatitis B. The recovery rate was 72 percent in the Maitake treatment group, compared with 57 percent in the control group. Hepatitis antigens disappeared in more than 40 percent of the Maitake patients, indicating the virus had been purged from the liver.
Laboratory studies also show that Maitake protects liver tissue from hepatitis caused by environmental toxins such as carbon tetrachloride and paracematol. These compounds go through a two-step process in the liver in which they are first activated into toxic forms and then deactivated into harmless forms. Since Maitake helps the liver handle chemical poisons in both steps, it protects this organ against a broad range of potential toxins.
Finally, maitake provides nutritional support by enhancing the colon's ability to absorb micronutrients, especially copper and zinc.
Precautions
Do not use maitake if you take interferon treatments.
