AGARICUS BLAZEI POWDER

Dehydrated, finely ground Agaricus blazei mycelium cultured on organic whole oats.

Alternative Names:

*Agaricus brasiliensis
*Royal Sun Agaricus
*King Agaricus
*Almond Portobello
*Himematsutake
*Kawariharatake
*Songrong
*Cogmelo de Dues (Mushroom of God)

Mushroom Description:

In the same genus as the common button mushroom, this large and robust tropical species is found in Brazil and also in the southeastern United States. The thick, tall stem is whitish and bruises golden when handled or cut. The cap is whitish-brown with chocolate-brown gills and spores on the underside when mature. Both the fruitbodies and cultured mycelia have a wonderful, pervasive almond flavor and fragrance.

Known Active Constituents:

*Polysaccharides: A wide range of alpha- and alpha-D-glucans; beta- and beta-D-glucans
*Proteoglucan
*Riboglucans
*Anti-angiogenic compounds
*Sterols: Ergosterol

Medicinal Properties and Modes of Actions

The anti-tumor properties of this mushroom have been attributed to its high content of polysaccharides and antiangiogenic compounds. Such effects are thought to be exerted by immunopotentiation and/or direct inhibition of angiogenesis (the process whereby blood supply to tumors is increased) (Ahn et al., 2004; Lee et al., 2003;Takaku et al., 2002). Interestingly, a unique potein-bound polysaccharide ("Atom") was found to have no activity against four cancers in vitro (in a test tube)but had pronounced and significant activity in vivo (in a living creature)

(Ito et al. 1997). This suggests a host-mediated immune response mechanism.

Hot water extracted beta-glucans from Agaricus blazei show overall anti-diabetic activity including antihyperglcemic, antihypertriglyceridemic, anticholesterolemic, and antiarteriosclerotic activity (Kim et al., 2005). Agaricus blazei has been shown to stimulate and modulate the immune system. Fujiyama et al. (1999) reported that the beta-glucans in this mushroom activated the immune response to abnormal cells, but had no effect on normal cells.

Selected References:

Ahn, W.S. et al., 2004. "Natural killer cell activity and quality of life were improved by consumption of a mushroom extract, Agaricus blazei Murill., in gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy". Int J Gynecol Cancer 14(4):589-594.

Fujimiya, Y., Y. Suzuki, K. Oshiman, H. Kobori, K. Moriguchi, H. Nakasima, Y. Matumoto, S. Takahara, T. Ebina, R. Kakkura. 1998. "Selective tumorcidal effect of soluble proteoglucan extracted from the basidiomycete, Agaricus blazei Murrill, mediated via natural killer cell activation and apoptosis". Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy. 46:147-159.

Fujiyama, Y. et al., 1999. "Tumor-specific cytocidal and immunopotentiating effects of relatively low molecular weight products derived from the Basiodiomycete, Agaricus blaxei MurRill." Anticancer Research 19:113-118.

Ito, H., K. Shimura, H. Itoh & M. Kawade, 1997. " Antitumor effects of a new polysaccharide protein complex (ATOM) prepared from Agaricus blazei Murrill. (Iwade strain 101) "Himematsutake" and its mechanisms in tumor-bearing mice" Anticancer Research Jan-Feb 17(1A): 277-284.

Kim, Y.W. et al., 2005. "Anti-diabetic activity of beta-glucans and their enzymatically hydrolyzed ogliosaccharides from Agaricus blazei" Biotechnol 27(7): 483-487.

Lee, Y. et al., 2003. "Oral administration of Agaricus blazei (H1 strain) inhibited tumor growth in a sarcoma 180 inoculation model". Exp Anim 52(5):371-375.

Mizuno, M., M. Mizumoto, K. Minato, and H. Tsuchida, 1998. "Polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei stimulate lymphocyte T-cell subsets in mice". Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry Mar; 62(3):434-437.

Takaku, T., Y. Kimura & H. Okuda, 2001. "Isolation of an antitumor compound from Agaricus blazei Murrill and its mechanism of action" J Nutrition 131(5)1409-1413.

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