Safety of Medicinal Mushrooms in Patients With Cancer

Mushrooms have been valued for their health-promoting and medicinal effects for thousands of years. Research over the past few decades has focused on maitake (Grifola frondosa), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), coriolus (Coriolus versicolor), shiitake (Lentinula edodes), and agaricus (Agaricus blazei), which are predominantly used in Asia.

Bioactive compounds derived from these mushrooms include polysaccharides known as glucans, as well as polysaccharide-protein complexes, some of which have been developed as anticancer treatments. They elicit antitumor, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antihypercholesterolemic, antidiabetic, and hepato-protective effects.