Coriolus 2

Bioanalytical Core

Turkey Tail Mushroom The Bioanalytical Core serves a four-fold function within the DCRC:

Core facility for assessing levels of immunopotentiating bioactive components of Trametes versicolor (Tv) and in tissues and serum provided by the three Projects.
Storage and distribution facility for the Tv extracts and control test compounds to all of the projects.
Central facility for ß-glucan fractionation, enzymatic degradation, and labeling.
Training facility to learn botanical bioanalysis.

The Core is located at the University of Minnesota and lead by Rory Remmel, PhD. Dr. Remmel oversees all analyses performed within the Core. The extracts are from Paul Stamets and Fungi Perfecti and chain of custody is maintained on all test products and stability is assessed at regular intervals. Gary Ostroff, PhD, an internationally recognized leader in ß-glucan research serves as a consultant working with the Bioanalytical Core to a) fractionate, isolate and purify ß-glucan fractions from complex Tv extracts; b) enzymatically degrade ß-glucans in Tv to create a test compound for use in Projects 1 and 2; and c) create a fluorescently labeled purified beta-glucan for use in biodistribution studies.

Coriolus 1

Administrative Core

Turkey Tail Mushroom The Administrative Core is essential to the success of the DCRC. The Core director, Dr. Joel Slaton (University of Minnesota), facilitates the functions of all projects and cores. Dr. Cindy Wenner (Bastyr University) is the Co-Director of the Administrative Core and co-chairs the Internal Steering Committee which meets monthly by teleconference to review the scientific progress and fiscal status. The Committee identifies problems and barriers and assures that all goals are met within realistic time and within budget constraints.

The Administrative Coordinator works closely with the Director and Co-Director to schedule meetings with investigators and to ensure optimum communication with administrative personnel. The Director holds meetings every 2 weeks with administrative personnel. The External Advisory committee meets annually to evaluate the progress of the DCRC.

Coriolus

A major study of medicinal mushrooms by Cancer Research UK is the most comprehensive ever undertaken and was very positive.

The popular and wide spread use of medicinal mushrooms in Asia left the researchers wondering why we are not making better use of them in the West. They note, “The huge world wide sales of such products, can testify to the beliefs of many, of their efficacy.”

The Cancer Research UK team were impressed by “the remarkable ability of many of these non toxic compatible compounds to reduce the debilitating effects of traditional chemo-therapeutic drugs.’

Mushrooms have been treasured as remedies for disease and as natural health supports for thousands of years and are an incredibly popular food in most countries. Actually, world trade in mushrooms is as big as the trade in coffee.

funghi medicinali newsweek

MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Exploring their promise
By Sue Russell

Can mushrooms help fight high blood pressure, diabetes, and even cancer, HIV and AIDS? In Asia, the powerful healing properties of medicinal mushrooms have been recognized and sought out for several thousand years. In medieval Japan, the rare maitake (my-tah-key), a member of the ‘Monkey’s Bench’ family, was so highly prized it was worth its weight in silver. Now it is proving to be the most potent of the medicinal mushrooms and being studied closely by scientists in the US.

Maitake means Dancing Mushroom in Japanese. Folklore has it that the mushroom was so named because wildcrafters danced for joy when they found it. (Understandable, given that a single cluster can grow to 100 lbs.)

In folk medicine, the maitake (or Grifola frondosa) was credited with having near-miraculous healing properties. Other mushrooms such as the Reishi and the Shiitake have also been long revered and used to stimulate the immune system. The Shiitake, now a nouvelle cuisine staple, has a remedial history in China dating back to the Ming Dynasty but in traditional Chinese Medicine, the Reishi was considered the most effective medicinal mushroom.

Intervento I.S.S.

Acquisizioni in campo oncologico sull’azione terapeutica di funghi epigei. Analisi epidemiologica e fenomenologica.

Maurizio BAGNATO, Stefano RIZZO

Ispettorato Micologico Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Roma C

Introduzione

I funghi superiori sono stati utilizzati dal genere umano da millenni, inizialmente in ambienti rurali ed a fini d’integrazione nutrizionale, successivamente, con il migliorare delle condizioni di vita e d’alimentazione, sono entrati nelle diete perlopiù per meriti culinari (sapore ed odore), contenendo comunque anche minerali, vitamine e nutrienti quali proteine e polisaccaridi ed un basso tenore in grassi. Ma usi medicinali sono noti da migliaia d’anni soprattutto in Cina e in altri paesi dell’estremo oriente. Nella pratica medica tradizionale asiatica ma anche nella medicina moderna nei paesi come Cina, Giappone e Corea ed altri ancora, si usano i funghi nel trattamento delle più importanti malattie.