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The Mushroom Angle
Neither plant nor animal, mushrooms belong to the fungi kingdom and may contain cancer-fighting characteristics. Maitake (Grifola frondosa) and shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushrooms, traditionally used in Asia as both food and remedy, have demonstrated anti-cancer as well as immune-enhancing effects in several studies.
At least 30 studies have investigated maitake's anti-tumor action. One compared maitake D-fraction, an extract of the mushroom, with mitomycin-C, (MMC) a common chemotherapeutic drug. A small dose of the extract shrunk tumors in mice by 85 percent compared to 30 percent with MMC. Tumors shrunk by 99 percent when half doses of MMC and maitake extract were combined.1
Shiitake contains a polysaccharide component called lentinan, a recognized immunostimulant that is also approved in Japan for treating gastric cancer.2
References
1. Nanba H. Maitake D-fraction: healing and preventive potential for cancer. J Orthomolecular Med 1997;12(1):43-9.
2. Teguchi T, Kaneko Y. Lentinan: an overview of experimental and clinical studies of its action against cancer. In: Proceedings of the seventh symposium of host defense mechanisms against cancer. Hakone, Japan. 1985 Nov. 8-10.
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