About This Project

The use of medicinal mushrooms can become an attractive proposition for people looking to support their immune system during their treatment for cancer. Guaranteeing the content of immune-active constituents is important for these consumers, yet quality concerns have been raised for products available on the internet. We will report on the quality of commercially available extracts of C. versicolor, seeking to build consensus on production and quality assurance methods needed.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Medicinal mushrooms have been used to support cancer treatments in China and Japan since the late 1970s, on the basis of their immunomodulating activity mediated by fungal ß-Glucan. Meanwhile, they are not approved in the West, but we are seeing a dramatic increase in their availability, where they are sold on the internet as nutraceuticals.

There are some quality products out there, but studies have alerted us to low immunological activity of some products on the market, and others have alerted us to variance in other bioactive compounds within the same species. The actual concentration of active constituents can vary due to raw materials, their cultivation and quality assurance methods.

Realising the true properties of these mushrooms through quality products inspires our project.

What is the significance of this project?

Quality assurances on products, which guarantee the amounts of active ingredients, enables more effective and efficient use. It provides a more reliable source of products for practitioners and enhances reliability in future clinical trials, supporting a clinical development path for the product.

Market analysts estimate that medicinal mushrooms are seeing a 200-800% year-on-year growth depending on variety. The activity in Immuno-Oncology research, may also spur this trend along, with patients and physicians looking to products to support optimal immune function.

This project could be a valuable asset to both current and future practice. The aim is not to provide health advice, but to help practitioners navigate the market and, if needed, open a dialogue on best practices.

What are the goals of the project?

The primary objective is to catalogue the raw materials and cultivation methods used by participating suppliers across US and China, and directly compare that to ß-Glucan content achieved in the final product.

A secondary objective is to provide more information on the reliability of ß-Glucan tests through the use of a GMP-certified lab, using US-Pharmacopeia reference standards.

Exploratory Objectives include:

Perform structural elucidation analyses on a selection of samples to confirming that the detected polysaccharides were C.versicolor ß-Glucans.

Ascertain challenges and solutions to implementing quality assurance methods.

Provide a basis to validate the ß-glucan test as a testing standard in pharmacopoeia.