Organic Shiitake Extract

Common name: Shiitake, Golden oak mushroom, Black mushroom, Oakwood Mushroom, Chinese Mushroom, Shiangu-gu
Donku, Pasania

Botanical name: Lentinula edodes

Pharmaceutical name: Lentinula edodes

Part used: flesh fruit body

Family: Marasmiaceae

Actions

Antiviral, Antitumor, Circulatory stimulant, Cardioprotective, Hypocholesterolemic, Immune enhancing & modulating, Tonifying

Symptoms

Rickets, metrorrhagia (uterine bleeding), hemorrhoids, stomachache, cervical cancer, high level of cholesterol in blood.

Medicinal Uses

In many Eastern cultures, Shiitake is considered to be an “elixir of life”, and mushrooms are an integral part of the daily diet. Its main compounds have many health effects, including antiviral, antitumor, antifungal, and lowering cholesterol effects.

Many of the human diseases currently increasing throughout the world have no specific cures. Immune system failure or dysfunction is a common element in viral and immune deficiency diseases. There is increasing evidence that the health-promoting compounds found in Shiitake mushroom, stimulate the immune system.

The cholesterol-lowering activity is associated with the fiber extracted from Shiitake.

In addition to compounds affecting the immune system and cholesterol metabolism, a number of shiitake’s other properties have been investigated. For example, Shiitake extracts have been shown to reduce blood clotting, which is a factor in cardiovascular diseases.

The main health benefits:

• Stimulates immune system
• Regulates cholesterol level
• Regulates blood sugar level
• Reduce platelet aggregation
• Possess antiviral properties

Research

Studies show that shiitake mushrooms can lower the level of fat in the blood. When laboratory rats were put on a diet containing shiitake mushrooms (with one percent cholesterol, 18 percent casein, and 5 percent cottonseed oil added), the level of blood cholesterol was lower in the experimental group than in the control group after 2 months. The same results also occurred when the rats were fed the diet containing shiitake mushrooms one month after they were given cholesterol.

After hyperlipemia patients (those with excessive fat in the blood, including patients of atherosclerosis, diabetes, and hypertension) took 150 to 300 milligrams of lentysine (an ingredient in shiitake mushrooms) for 15 days, the level of fat in their blood decreased. When they stopped taking shiitake mushrooms, the fat level began to rise slightly. The effect of shiitake mushrooms lowering the level of fat in the blood is attributed to two ingredients: lentysine and eritadenine.

Shiitake mushrooms have been found to contain a polysaccharose called lentinan, which can inhibit the growth of tumors in laboratory rats with 98 percent effectiveness. That figure was reduced to 6.4 percent after the thymus (which plays an important role in the immune system) was removed in 2-day-old rats. The same research also found that shiitake mushrooms did not increase the body's immune function when it remained normal. However they can significantly boost the body's immune function when immune deficiency occurs.

When lentinan contained in shiitake mushrooms was used to treat laboratory rats with tumors, the tumors shrank in 6 of 10 rats under observation including cervical and liver cancer.

Contraindications

Pregnancy and Lactation (due to insufficient data).

Suggested Use: One - two capsules daily, with food, or as directed by your health care professional or pharmacist.