Common Name ... Turkey Tail
Description:
Coriolus versicolor is found throughout the wooded temperate zones of China, Japan and other countries of Northern Hemisphere. The woody, shelf-like fruiting bodies form dense, overlapping clusters on stumps, tree trunks, and fallen trees. The mushroom caps have a plush velvety surface and are colored in varying shades of brown or gray, with a distinctive pattern of alternating bands of dark and light color.
Active Constituents:
Coriolus versicolor (also known as Trametes versicolor), is unique among the medicinal mushrooms, with extensive use in both traditional herbalism and modern clinical practice.
The focus of the modern clinical use and research (over 400 published studies), has been the immuno-modulating and anti-tumor properties of the hot water extracted polysaccharides. Rich in polysaccharides and other immune boosting compounds, our high potency extract contains both Polysaccharide-K (PSK) and Polysaccharide-P (PSP), the most active components in Coriolus, and some of the first all natural extracts used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to be fully backed by modern clinical research.
Historical or traditional use:
In Classical Chinese herbalism the fruit bodies (mushrooms) are harvested, dried, ground to a powder and made into tea. Given the extraction rate of the polysaccharides in a simple hot water extract (tea), it is interesting to note that the dose for the active compounds is the same in both traditional medicine and modern clinical practice.
In China Coriolus versicolor is known as "Yun zhi", or the "cloud mushroom". In traditional herbalism hot water extracts of Coriolus were used to dispel dampness, reduce phlegm, treat pulmonary infections, and to support liver health. The Ming dynasty edition of the Materia Medica states that "The black and green Yun zhi are beneficial to one's spirit and vital energy, and strengthen one's tendon and bone. If Yun zhi is taken for a long time, it will make one vigorous and live long." In Japan these mushrooms are also highly prized and sought after by people suffering from a variety of cancers. It was this popularity as a "folk remedy" that first got the attention of modern researchers.
Scientific Support:
Based on its reputation for healing within their traditional herbal practices Chinese and Japanese scientists began to do controlled clinical research on concentrated hot water extracts from Coriolus, studying the same 1-4, 1-3 polysaccharides (beta glucans) that would have been released into solution when making the hot water teas described in the texts from traditional Chinese herbalism.
After placebo controlled clinical research demonstrated significant immuno-modulating properties the Coriolus 1-4, 1-3 polysaccharides (beta glucans) were approved as a pharmaceutical product by the Japanese Health Ministry, allowing health insurance to cover the cost of its use.
Applied fields:
Coriolus polysaccharides were used in practice to support immune health after surgical treatment for various conditions and to support and protect immune health in those patients receiving therapies where immune suppression is a prominent feature.* Private and government sponsored research continued to monitor the effectiveness of the highly concentrated Coriolus extract in placebo controlled multi-institutional clinical studies, with the clinical evidence demonstrating significant immune benefit from daily use.
The Coriolus extract was so successful that the cost to Japan's national health insurance program reached almost a billion dollars a year. In an attempt to reduce expenditures the Health Ministry restricted the use of the Coriolus extract to those people most in need, people receiving chemotherapy or radiation. Clinical research has consistently demonstrated the ability of Coriolus beta glucans to double and even triple survival rates for people receiving chemotherapy and radiation.*
Suggested Use
800~1000mg two times daily, or more as recommended by your health care professional.