Medicinal Fungi in History

5,300 years ago, an injured and starving man from Val Venosta, Italy, fled across an Alpine glacier to escape pursuers. But his enemies caught up with him and with a practiced arrow-shot penetrated his shoulder blade and subclavian artery. Before long, he was dead from blood loss. “Oetzi the Iceman” was found mummified in 1991. On his person were pouches containing mushroom remedies, the oldest known proof in existence of medicinal mushrooms usage.

There is good reason to believe he carried both of these mushrooms along as natural remedies. Whipworm parasite eggs were found in Oetzi’s intestines. Birch polypore mushroom Piptoporus betulinus is a traditional de-worming remedy. The other mushroom in his possession, Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius), may have been used to cauterize the wound on his right hand.

Both species belong to the group of mushrooms known as polypores, so named because of the many pores underneath. They often grow on trees, and to date no species is known to be poisonous to humans.

Polypores are usually considered inedible due to the fact that they are hard and wood-like. But for ancient peoples all across the globe – from China and India to Europe and the Americas – polypore teas and poultices have none-the-less been indispensible allies to human health at least for as long as written and oral traditions can recount.

Oral traditions of Native Americans bear tale of many types of polypores being used to help against the diseases brought by the Europeans, including Birch polypore but also Reishi (Ganoderma resinaceum), Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) and the now almost vanished species Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis).

Although nearly extinct today, Agarikon was once common in the old-growth forests of ancient Europe. Greek physician Dioscorides referred to Agarikon as a remedy for tuberculosis in Materia Medica, 65 B.C. It’s the earliest record of a medicinal mushroom in European literature. Two millennia later, the historic use of Agarikon in Poland was put down in writing in the article Medicinal mushrooms in Polish Folk Medicine by K. Grzywnowics. Again, it included lung conditions, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and infected wounds.

While mushrooms have been utilized medicinally in the West, it pales in comparison to the adulation they have received in the Orient. Next follows three species of medicinal mushrooms from Asia, which simply have to be included in any article on medicinal mushrooms.

First in this list has to be Reishi, a mushroom so revered throughout Asian history that it’s found in numerous ancient wood-carvings and temple engravings. It also owns the distinction as the oldest medicinal mushroom in Chinese literature, first encountered in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, 2,000 B.C. Often referred to as a “panacea, its acclaimed properties are too numerous to list.

Next is a mushroom from Tibet known as Cordyceps, a small fungus growing out of the bodies of silk caterpillars. Its first mention was in The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman, 200 A.D. Traditionally used as an aphrodisiac, today it’s popular with athletes to improve strength and stamina.

Finally there is Shiitake, the number one gourmet mushroom of the Orient. Shiitake has been cultured in China for approximately 1,000 years as a food. What is less known is that it is also one of the most researched medicinal mushrooms in the world. A polysaccharide extracted from Shiitake is approved in Japan as an anti-cancer drug. Other qualities hinted at by research include antibiotic and immune enhancer.

Scientific research on medicinal mushrooms began in Japan in the late 1960′s. A ground-breaking study by Dr. Ikekawa found that mushroom growers and their families had lower cancer rates then the communities in which they lived. Today, medicinal research into mushrooms has expanded exponentially around the world and is still increasing. Medicinal mushrooms are still making history.

Note: The article is informational only. The FDA has not approved mushrooms for medicinal use. Always consult a licensed medical practitioner before using any product to treat an illness.