Maitake

Grifola frondosa

Maitake Uses Considerations

Maitake is a very large mushroom that grows deep in the mountains of northeastern Japan. The word maitake is literally translated from Japanese as "dancing mushroom." According to herbal folklore, it was 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 or fan-shaped caps, usually fused together at the base of tree stumps or on tree roots. Only recently have Japanese farmers succeeded in producing high-quality organic maitake mushrooms, making this herbal product more widely available.

USES

Herbalists classify maitake as an adaptogen-an herb that helps the body to adapt to stress and resist infection. Maitake and its extracts have been shown to significantly boost the immune system and build immune reserves. It also contains a number of polysaccharides that have been shown to fight the formation and growth of tumors. Other research has found that maitake has potent liver-protectant properties and can lower blood pressure and blood-glucose levels.

Benefits of maitake for specific health conditions include the following:

• Cancer. Maitake is a proven cancer fighter. In laboratory tests, powdered maitake increased the activity of three types of immune cells-macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and T cells-by 140, 186, and 160 percent, respectively. It reduced tumor formation by 86 percent in mice that were given maitake as compared with mice in a control group. A Chinese clinical study established that maitake treatment reduces the rate of recurrence of bladder cancer after surgery from 65 to 33 percent. Researchers have found that when combined with the standard chemotherapy medication mitomycin (Mutamacyin), maitake inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells-even after tumors are well formed-and prevents the spread of such cells to the liver.
  The anticancer compound in maitake, sold commercially as the maitake D-fraction, has shown positive results in American studies on breast and colorectal cancer. Chinese doctors have reported positive results in sixty-three patients who had liver, lung, or stomach cancer, or leukemia.
  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved clinical studies of a maitake extract on participants with advanced breast and prostate cancer. The FDA actually skipped the usual first-phase toxicity study, going directly to a phase-two human study. There are strong indications that maitake also reduces pain, hair loss, nausea, and other side effects usually associated with chemotherapy.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome and Lyme disease. Maitake stimulates immune function and fights infection. It also provides nutritional support by enhancing the body's absorption of micronutrients (nutrients needed in very small amounts) through the intestine. This is especially true for copper, and increasing copper absorption also increases the absorption of zinc, a nutrient that often is not readily available to the bodies of people with chronic fatigue syndrome.
• HIV / AIDS. Studies have shown that maitake extract kills the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and enhances activity of T cells. A sulfated version of maitake extract prevents HIV-induced destruction of T cells by as much as 97 percent in vitro (outside the body). Two American doctors have used this herb in treating Kaposi's sarcoma, a form of cancer that now primarily affects people with AIDS. Maitake extracts also keep ordinary cells from converting to fat-storage cells under laboratory conditions, and so may help prevent the development of fatty deposits under the skin that can occur as a result of treatment with so-called AIDS cocktails.

CONSIDERATIONS

Maitake is most effective when used as maitake D-fraction. It is available in capsules or tablets containing the whole fruiting body of maitake, which is higher in polysaccharides. Maitake supplements can be used in the amount of 3 to 7 grams per day. A liquid product with a higher concentration of polysaccharides is available. Maitake is also available fresh or dried for use in food or tea.

This herb should be used as a complementary therapy for chronic conditions such as cancer and HIV / AIDS. It should not be considered a substitute for standard treatments.

Maitake has been used by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to increase the production of a family of immune system chemicals called the interferons, some of which have been shown to stabilize MS. However, one form of interferon stimulated by maitake, gamma-interferon, can promote the destruction of nerve tissue, so people with MS should avoid maitake until this remedy has been more thoroughly tested.