Inonotus obliquus
| Chaga | |
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| Species: | I. obliquus
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| Binomial name | |
| Inonotus obliquus | |
Chaga (a Latinisation of the Russian term 'чага' ), (Inonotus obliquus), also known as cinder conk, is a fungus in Hymenochaetaceae family. It is a fungus parasitic on Birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal. The fertile fruitbody can be found very rarely as a resupinate (crustose) fungus on or near the clinker, usually appearing after the host tree is completely dead. I. obliquus grows in birch forests of Russia, Korea, Eastern and Northern Europe, Northern areas of the United States, in the North Carolina mountains and in Canada. The Chaga mushroom is considered a medicinal mushroom that has a place in Russian and Eastern European folk medicine.
Medicinal use
Since the 16th century, there are records of chaga mushroom being used in folk medicine and the botanical medicine of the Eastern European countries as a remedy for cancer, gastritis, ulcers, and tuberculosis of the bones. A review from 2010, stated, "As early as in the sixteenth century, Chaga was used as an effective folk medicine in Russia and Northern Europe to treat several human malicious tumors and other diseases in the absence of any unacceptable toxic side effects. Chemical investigations show that I. obliquus produces a diverse range of secondary metabolites including phenolic compounds, melanins, and lanostane-type triterpenoids. Among these are the active components for antioxidant, antitumoral, and antiviral activities and for improving human immunity against infection of pathogenic microbes. Geographically, however, this fungus is restricted to very cold habitats and grows very slowly, suggesting that Chaga is not a reliable source of these bioactive compounds. Attempts for culturing this fungus axenically all resulted in a reduced production of bioactive metabolites."[1] In 1958, scientific studies in Finland and Russia found Chaga provided an epochal effect in breast cancer, liver cancer, uterine cancer, and gastric cancer, as well as in hypertension and diabetes.[2]
In China, Japan and South-Korea hot water extracts of the non-linear, complex (1<-3) and (1<-6) ß-glucan polysaccharides that are found in Chaga and other mushrooms from the family Basidiomycota are being produced, sold and exported as anti-cancer medicinal supplements. The biologic properties of crude preparations of these specific β-glucans have been studied since the 1960s. Although these molecules exhibit a wide range of biologic functions, including anti tumor activity, their ability to prevent a range of experimental infectious diseases has been studied in the greatest detail.[3] Recent scientific research in Japan and China has been focused more on the anti-cancer potential and showed the effects of these specific polysaccharides to be comparable to chemo therapy and radiation, but without the side effects.[4] [5] Further research indicated these polysaccharides have strong anti-inflammatory [6] and immune balancing properties, [7] stimulating the body to produce NK (natural killer) cells to battle infections and tumor growth, instead of showing a direct toxidity against pathogens. This property makes polysaccharide-based supplements stand out from standard pharmaceuticals - no side effects will occur / develop; the body is healing itself.[8] Herbalist David Winston maintains that it is the strongest anti-cancer medicinal mushroom.[9] Russian Literature Nobel Prize laureate Alexandr Solzhenitsyn wrote two pages on the medicinal use and value of chaga in his autobiographical novel, based on his experiences in a hospital in Tashkent, "Cancer Ward" (1968).
Due to the presence and known hypoglycemic activity of polysaccharides, caution and further inquiry may be wise undertakings for those who have hypoglycemic disorders.
Betulin and betulinic acid, are compounds found naturally in chaga and birch trees. The compounds are now being studied for use as a chemotherapeutic agent. Whereas Betulin as it is found in birch bark is indigestible by humans, the Chaga mushroom converts it into a form that can be digested orally. In an animal study, researchers found betulin from birch bark lowered cholesterol, obesity and improved insulin resistance.[10]
Preparation
Chaga is usually grated into a fine powder and used to brew a beverage resembling coffee. For medicinal use, however, an extraction process is needed. The major active ingredients, the polysaccharides, are found in the mostly indigestible chitin cellwalls of the Chaga. A hot water or ethanol extraction process is needed to release them for consumption.[11]. Scientific studies and research are in general also based on extracts.
Research
In 1998 there was a study in Poland that demonstrated Chaga's inhibiting effects on tumor growth.[12] Noda and colleagues found that betulin seems to work highly selectively on tumor cells because the interior pH of tumor tissues is generally lower than that of normal tissues, and betulinic acid is only active at those lower levels. Fulda et al. found in 1997 that once inside the cells, betulinic acid induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the tumors.[citation needed] In 2005, I. obliquus was evaluated for its potential for protecting against oxidative damage to DNA in human lymphocytes. The study found that the polyphenolic extract protected these cells against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress.[13] Another study that year found the endo-polysaccharide of Chaga produced indirect anti-cancer effects via immuno-stimulation. The mycelial endo-polysaccharide of I. obliquus was identified as a candidate for use as an immune response modifier and indicate that the anti-cancer effect of endo-polysaccharide is not directly tumorcidal but rather is immuno-stimulating.[14][8] It has also have anti-inflammatory properties.[7] Saitoh Akiko published on the antimutagenic effects of Chaga in 1996. Mizuno et al. published on the anti-tumor and hypoglycemic activities of the polysaccharides from the sclerotia and mycelia of Chaga.[15]
Due to the hypoglycemic activity of polysaccharides, caution and further inquiry may be wise undertakings for those who have hypoglycemic disorders.
Literature
- Smith JE, Rowan NJ, Sullivan R Medicinal Mushrooms: Their Therapeutic Properties and Current Medical Usage with Special Emphasis on Cancer Treatments, 2001
- Cristina Lull, Harry J. Wichers, and Huub F. J. Savelkoul "Antiinflammatory and Immunomodulating Properties of Fungal Metabolites", Wageningen University and Research Center, The Netherlands 2005
- Ulrike Lindequist, Timo H. J. Niedermeyer, and Wolf-Dieter Jülich " The Pharmacological Potential of Mushrooms", Oxford University Press 2005
- Andrea T. Borchers, Anita Krishnamurthy, Carl L. Keen, Frederick J. Meyersà, and M. Eric Gershwin "Immunobiology of Mushrooms", Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 2008
See also
References
- ^ Zheng W, Miao K, Liu Y, Zhao Y, Zhang M, Pan S; et al. (2010). "Chemical diversity of biologically active metabolites in the sclerotia of Inonotus obliquus and submerged culture strategies for up-regulating their production". Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 87 (4): 1237–54. doi:10.1007/s00253-010-2682-4. PMID 20532760.
{{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ [1] Medical Research Concerning Chaga
- ^ Bleicher P, Mackin W. Betafectin PGG-glucan: a novel carbohydrate immunomodulator with anti-infective properties. J Biotechnol Healthcare. 1995;2:207–222.
- ^ Polysaccharide Immunomodulators as Therapeutic Agents: Structural Aspects and Biologic Function - Arthur O. Tzianabos [2]
- ^ Anticancer activity of subfractions containing pure compounds of Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) extract in human cancer cells and in Balbc/c mice bearing Sarcoma-180 cells - Mi Ja Chung et.al. [3]
- ^ Identification of Inonotus obliquus (Chaga) and Analysis of Antioxidation and Antitumor Activities of Polysaccharides - Yana Song et.al. [4]
- ^ a b Park YM, Won JH, Kim YH, Choi JW, Park HJ, Lee KT (2005). "In vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of the methanol extract of Inonotus obliquus". J Ethnopharmacol. 101 (1–3): 120–8. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.04.003. PMID 15905055.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Kim YO, Park HW, Kim JH, Lee JY, Moon SH, Shin CS (2006). "Anti-cancer effect and structural characterization of endo-polysaccharide from cultivated mycelia of Inonotus obliquus". Life Sci. 79 (1): 72–80. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2005.12.047. PMID 16458328.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "pmid16458328" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ [5] Tillotsen, Alan. Chaga Mushrooms (Inonotus obliquus)
- ^ Betulin from birch bark could treat metabolic disorders[6]
- ^ PDF with background on extraction processes [7]
- ^ Rzymowska J (1998). "The effect of aqueous extracts from Inonotus obliquus on the mitotic index and enzyme activities". Boll Chim Farm. 137 (1): 13–5. PMID 9595828.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Cui Y, Kim DS, Park KC (2005). "Antioxidant effect of Inonotus obliquus". J Ethnopharmacol. 96 (1–2): 79–85. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.08.037. PMID 15588653.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kim YO, Han SB, Lee HW, Ahn HJ, Yoon YD, Jung JK, Kim HM, Shin CS (2005). "Immuno-stimulating effect of the endo-polysaccharide produced by submerged culture of Inonotus obliquus". Life Sci. 77 (19): 2438–56. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2005.02.023. PMID 15970296.
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Mizuno T. (1999). "Antitumor and hypoglycemic activities of polysaccharides from the sclerotia and mycelia of Inonotus obliquus". International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. 1 (1): 301–316.
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