Double Extract of Chaga Mushroom in ethanol.
Medicinal mushroom use has a long history in traditional medicine, a history which current research is only beginning to catch up with. Modern biochemical data shows an array of active constituents and compounds which assist the human body in the maintenance of health and in the healing process of ailments.
Fungal polysaccharides, actively researched since the 1950s, are long branching chains of complex sugars and have been shown to exhibit immune-modulating, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities (Hobbs, 1986), while compounds such as phenolics and terpenoids display a reduction in oxidative damage on the cellular levels (Mase, 2012).<br><br>These activities have indicated medicinal mushrooms in instances of under-active immune systems (such as in common cold and flu season), overactive immune function (such as in cases of autoimmune diseases), and carcinogenesis (such as in the growth of tumors and metastatic cancers) (Masé, 2012).<br><br>Because medicinal mushrooms contain this variety of constituents, both easily water-soluble (polysaccharides) and of lesser solubility (terpenoids and phenolics), the double-extraction process is necessary for making a full-spectrum medicine. (article from The Herbal Academy)
