Anyone use PSK? (medicinal mushrooms)

Where do you buy it?

It was recommended by my complementary medicine doctor.  I'm clueless as to where to purchase it though.

Comments

  • BarbaraA
    BarbaraA Member Posts: 7,378
    edited April 2011
  • pejkug3
    pejkug3 Member Posts: 902
    edited April 2011

    I guess I don't know what I'm looking for when I google AHCC.  I take it that AHCC is what I should be buying?  But how do I now I'm buying a quality product?

  • BarbaraA
    BarbaraA Member Posts: 7,378
    edited April 2011

    Your naturopath can direct you to a quality firm who sells them. I use the Olympian Labs AHCC.

  • lmk
    lmk Member Posts: 15
    edited April 2011

    I use PSP(Yun Zhi) since it is suppose to be better, but I get it from the manufacturer in Shangai through a friend. I dont know if they ship worldwide. But if waiting for a supply I buy it under the "OGANIKA" label(product name YUN ZHI) which are manufactured in Richmond B.C. The info in this web address may be useful to you.   http://psp-research.com/psp9.htm

  • sweetbean
    sweetbean Member Posts: 1,931
    edited April 2011

    Check out Mushroom Wisdom.  They have a lot of products.  I haven't really started researching which one I will take post radiation, but I will definitely be doing it.

  • Husband11
    Husband11 Member Posts: 2,264
    edited April 2011

    My wife, Bev, takes Maitake D extract, made by Griffon (Pro).  Cheapest source we can find is vitacost. 

  • pejkug3
    pejkug3 Member Posts: 902
    edited April 2011
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2011

    I'm taking MushroomScience brand Coriolis - Super Strength 600mg capsules, two AM and two PM. I am currently undergoing A/C chemo, and coriolis helps with white blood cell production. So far my counts are great, but I am also doing Neulasta shots.

    There's a lot of information on how PSK is being used in Japan as a standard part of the chemo regimen. It's basically a coreolis extract, or "turkey tail" mushroom. It grows all over the woods of the Northern USA, btw. It's like a weed.

    Turkey Tail Mushroom

  • luv_gardening
    luv_gardening Member Posts: 1,393
    edited April 2011

    I wondered what PSK actually stood for and found this on Wikipedia.

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    Polysaccharide-K (International brand name: Krestin, PSK) is a protein-bound polysaccharide, which is used as an immune system boosting agent in the treatment of cancer in some countries in Europe as well as China and Japan. In Japan, PSK is approved as an adjuvant for cancer therapy[1] and is covered by government health insurance.
    PSK is isolated from the mushroom Trametes versicolor. PSK has documented anticancer activity in vitro,[2] in vivo[3] and in human clinical trials.[4] Research has also demonstrated that the PSK can reduce mutagen-induced, radiation-induced, and spontaneously-induced cancer development.[5] PSK has shown to be beneficial as an adjuvant in the treatment of gastric, esophageal, colorectal, breast and lung cancers.[6] Human clinical trials suggest Polysaccharide-K can reduce cancer recurrence when used as an adjuvant[4][7] and research has demonstrated the mushroom can inhibit certain human cancer cell lines in vitro.[8][9][10]
    The United States' top-ranked[11] cancer hospital, the MD Anderson, has reported that it is a "promising candidate for chemoprevention due to the multiple effects on the malignant process, limited side effects and safety of daily oral doses for extended periods of time."[12] In fact, the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia reported that the WHO has only eight records of adverse effects with PSK and none reported for PSP.[13]

    ...

    PSK and PSP

    In Japan, the PSK that is used is derived from the "CM-101" strain of Trametes versicolor. In China however, a highly similar PSK formulation is used. The slightly different formulation is known as Polysaccharide Peptide or PSP, and is derived from a strain of Trametes versicolor known as "COV-1".[6]

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) is an alpha-glucan rich nutritional supplement produced from the mycelia of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) of the basidiomycete family of mushrooms, and is not an approved drug.[1][2] AHCC was originally designed to lower high-blood pressure. However, researchers at Tokyo University found AHCC's influence upon the innate immune system highly beneficial and published the results in 1992, though not in the commonly indexed scientific literature. In this study, researchers found that AHCC significantly increased natural killer (NK) cell activity in cancer patients, and also enhanced the effects of killer T-cells, and cytokines (interferon, IL-12, TNF-alpha).[citation needed]
    One cohort study published in 2003 reported improved survival associated with AHCC in primary liver cancer patients after surgical resection of the primary tumor. [3] The immunological effect of AHCC has been studied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 21 healthy volunteers.[4] The AHCC group showed a significantly higher number of total dendritic cells compared with baseline, a significantly higher number of DC1 cells compared with baseline, a significantly higher number of DC2 cells compared with controls, and a significantly increased mixed-leukocyte reaction compared with controls. There was no significant difference in cytokine production, NK cell activity or other immune function parameters between the two groups.

    ----------

    AHCC and Cancer

    There have been reports of tumor reduction and even cures of cancer using Reishi mushrooms and Chinese herbs. It has been observed that these traditional remedies may work by up-regulation of the immune system.[15]
    A study published in the Journal of Hepatology compared the outcomes of 113 post-operative liver cancer patients taking AHCC with 156 patients in the control group. The results showed the rate of recurrence of malignant tumors was significantly lower (34% versus 66%) and patient survival was significantly higher in the AHCC group (80% vs. 52%). The level of speculation was low because actual survival figures were recorded and the patients had all been carefully observed internally at the time of surgery with photographs of tumors and lesions[16].
    In Japan, AHCC is the 2nd most popular complementary and alternative medicine used by cancer patients. Agaricus blazei supplements are the most popular, outpacing AHCC use by a factor of
    7:1.[9]

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    Take this information as you would anything from Wikipedia and check any information before acting on it.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2011

    Still taking it, without Neulasta, through TDM1 and Taxotere. Still great white counts. Highly recommend this.

  • char123
    char123 Member Posts: 82
    edited September 2011

    Hi Windless:  i tried to take Coriolis during my AC treatments..Could not get it down.  Good for you.  That was the only thing that made me sick...lol.. to this day, cannot take it..

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2011

    Really? As pills or in some other form? I take them on an empty stomach in the mornings with no ill effects at all. (Then again, I am a total mushroom fanatic - love them, pick them in the wild, etc.)

  • char123
    char123 Member Posts: 82
    edited September 2011

     Hi Windlass:  I was taking the pills...I do like mushrooms.  maybe not so much with the concentration of the pills??

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