Maitake Mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) - Botanical Medicines

Maitake Mushrooms ( Grifola frondosa )

The maitake mushroom is native to northeastern Japan and has been prized in Japanese herbology for hundreds of years because of its ability to strengthen the body and improve overall health. According to Anthony Cichoke, writing in the May 1994 Townsend Letter for Doctors , maitake mushrooms have inhibited some tumor formation in animal experiments. Currently, research is being conducted by Dr. Dennis Miller of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America on its effects in stabilizing stage IV colorectal cancer in human patients.

Cichoke also suggests that maitake mushrooms may help prevent the destruction of T-helper cells by HIV. Dr. Joan Priestley, a world-renowned AIDS specialist, has used the mushrooms to improve Kaposi's sarcoma patients, especially those who received radiation. Many symptoms of AIDS were generally improved after taking the mushrooms. Cichoke further reports that Dr. Ber, a homeopathic physician practicing in Phoenix, Arizona, has used maitake mushrooms to treat HIV/AIDS patients. Ber has been able to maintain T-lymphocyte cell counts and inhibit further infections characteristic of AIDS patients. Ber believes the mushrooms improve immune function and maintain CD-4 cell levels. Cichoke emphasizes that more comprehensive controlled studies are needed, however, to substantiate maitake's use in treating AIDS-related diseases.