Medicinal Mushroom Used in Korea as Cancer Therapy Adjunct

By Dr. Markho Rafael

Out of Korea comes a new and increasingly popular medicinal mushroom known as Phellinus linteus. It does have a rarely used English common name, Black Hoof Fungus. But you are more likely to hear it referred to by its Japanese name as Mesima.

Common to southern United States and Southeast Asia, Phellinus linteus is a polypore on hardwood trees such as poplar, oak and mulberry. [1]

Most medicinal mushroom species used today in America came to us via China or Japan. Phellinus linteus is a break from this trend, as it first became popular in Korea where it's commonly used to complement traditional cancer treatment.

From there, the fame of Phellinus linteus has spread across the globe. Doctors all over the world now use it as an immune enhancer [2-11], particularly to prevent cancer metastasis. [5,10,12-17] In addition to Korea, Phellinus linteus is today also increasingly popular in the U.S., Japan, and the Middle East from Turkey to Israel.

Perhaps it all got started when one of the first Korean studies on Phellinus linteus in 1996 reported that it exhibited a wider range of immunostimulation and antitumor activity than polysaccharides isolated from other medicinal mushroom species. [4]

Years later, American world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets helped deepen our understanding of Phellinus linteus when he published a comparative analysis with the most common medicinal mushroom species: Agaricus blazei, Lion's Mane, Chaga, Reishi, Maitake and Cordyceps. [18]

Phellinus linteus had a stronger effect than any of them on the part of the immune system known as macrophages. The activity of this type of white blood cell increased by 5,700% when Phellinus linteus extract was administered in an amount equivalent to 3,750 mg for an average size adult (165 lbs). [18]

Although human macrophage cells have been known to both induce and inhibit cancer growth, the published research on Phellinus linteus shows that it promotes the anti-cancer properties of macrophages rather than their potential cancer-inducing properties. [8,14,19,20]

Three additional papers have been published with reports of patients using Phellinus linteus extract and experiencing "spontaneous" regression:

1. First out was a Japanese article in 2004 with a case study of a patient with hormone refractory prostate cancer and bone metastasis who exhibited "dramatic remission" after using Phellinus linteus extract. [15]

2. A Korean journal published a paper in 2005 which reported on a "spontaneous regression of a large hepatocellular carcinoma with skull metastasis." The 65-year-old patient had "ingested mushroom called Phellinus linteus for one and a half years." [17]

3. Finally, an article published 2006 in the Japanese journal Radiation Medicine told of a "patient with hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple lung metastases in whom malignancy spontaneously regressed after taking Phellinus linteus Mycelium." The 79-year old patient reportedly "took extract from Phellinus linteus Mycelium for one month, and 6 months later the tumors appeared to be in complete regression." [16]

Note: The information in this article is not intended to cure, treat, or diagnose any illness. The article is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The fungus Phellinus linteus has not been approved in the United States for use as a pharmaceutical. Always ask a licensed medical practitioner before using any substance as medicine. - 17269

About the Author:

Dr. Markho Rafael currently specializes in medicinal mushrooms research, after working with natural health since the mid-90's. He partners with Cordyceps Reishi Extract, LLC, a business offering premium quality medicinal mushroom products including Phellinus linteus extract. For references to this article, go the Phellinus linteus reference page.