There are more than 100,000 varieties of mushrooms on this planet, and hundreds are edible. In laboratory tests (mostly in Japan and China), a few dozen species have been confirmed to have medicinal properties. An extract from maitake mushrooms called D fraction is marketed as a dietary supplement.

Maitake Beta-Factor, Planetary Formulas

Dr. Nanba's Maitake Beta-Factor by Planetary Formulas contains Dr. Nanba's unique MaitakeGold 404 beta-glucan fraction, the fully mature fruiting body and the mycellium. This provides a complete spectrum of maitake activity.

Lifestyle Recommendations: To support immune defenses, get enough rest, drink plenty of pure water, exercise regularly, avoid excessive stress and supplement the diet with antioxidant nutrients.

Consists of MaitakeGold 404 which is a trademark of The Tradeworks Group, Inc. U.S. Patent number 5,854,404.
Maitake Supplement Facts:
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid)
Calcium
Maitake ( beta-glucan ) Fraction
Maitake Blend
Maitake Fruiting Body and Maitake Myceila Biomass.

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Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including maitake mushroom, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Benefit of Maitake Mushroom:

Benefit of Maitake and cancer
Maitake mushroom is used with chemotherapy to treat breast cancer and other cancers in Asia. Laboratory studies show that Maitake extract can reduce the growth of cancer in animals. Human studies are needed before understanding the role of maitake mushroom in clinical cases of human cancer treatment.

Maitake and immune system
Maitake extract is thought to benefit the immune system, and some people take this mushroom extract in order to reduce the occurrence of the common cold and the flu. Whether maitake is able to do this is not clear at this time.

Maitake Mushroom Research Update
Maitake D Fraction enhances antitumor effects and reduces immunosuppression by mitomycin-C in tumor-bearing mice.
Nutrition. 2005 May;21(5):624-9.
D-Fraction, a polysaccharide extracted from maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa), has been reported to exhibit an antitumor effect through activation of immunocompetent cells, including macrophages and T cells, with modulation of the balance between T-helper 1 and 2 cells. We examined whether maitake D Fraction could decrease the effective dosage of the chemotherapeutic agent, mitomycin-C (MMC), necessary to control carcinoma in mice. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that maiteke D-Fraction can decrease the effective dosage in tumor-bearing mice by increasing the proliferation, differentiation, and activation of immunocompetent cells and thus provide a potential clinical benefit for patients with cancer.

Potential growth inhibitory effect of maitake D-fraction on canine cancer cells.
Vet Ther. 2004 Winter;5(4):263-71.
The postulated anticancer effect of maiteke D-fraction, the bioactive extract of maitake mushroom, on three types (CF33, CF21, and CL-1) of canine cancer cells was evaluated. The effect of maitake D-fraction on several human cancer cells was also investigated. The effect of other beta-glucan products was likewise examined. Maitake D-fraction was highly effective on the canine cancer cells, either potently inhibiting cell growth or directly killing cells. Similar effects were also demonstrated in certain human cancer cells. However, other beta-glucan products relevant to D-fraction had no such effects on canine cancer cells. Therefore, maitake D-fraction is a potent natural agent that could be useful in treating canine cancers as well as other veterinary cancers.

Effects of D-Fraction, a polysaccharide from Grifola frondosa on tumor growth involve activation of NK cells.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Dec;25(12):1647-50.
Natural killer (NK) cells are directly cytotoxic for tumor cells and play a primary role in regulating immune responses. We monitored levels of NK cell cytotoxic activity in cancer patients receiving maitake D-Fraction extracted from maitake mushrooms (Grifola frondosa). Elevated levels of cytotoxic activity were maintained for one year. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying long-term activation of NK cells during treatment with maitake D-Fraction, we examined tumor volume and levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in MM46-bearing C3H/HeN mice to which D-Fraction was administered for 19 d. Maitake D-Fraction markedly suppressed tumor growth, corresponding with increases in TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma released from spleen cells and a significant increase in TNF-alpha expressed in NK cells. This suggests that the maitake D-Fraction activates NK cells even on the 20th day after treatment. Furthermore, D-Fraction increased macrophage-derived interleukin (IL)-12, which serves to activate NK cells. These results suggest that NK cells are not only responsible for the early effects of D-Fraction on tumor growth, but also for the long-term tumor-suppressive effects of maitake D-Fraction through increased IL-12 released from macrophages.

Antihypertensive and metabolic effects of whole Maitake mushroom powder and its fractions in two rat strains.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2002 Aug;237(1-2):129-36.
Talpur NA, Echard BW, Fan AY, Jaffari O, Bagchi D, Preuss HG. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC
Maitake mushroom has been reported to favorably influence hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of whole Maitake mushroom powder and two extracts designated as ether soluble (ES) and water soluble (WS) on Zucker fatty rats (ZFR), a model of insulin resistance, and on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), a model of genetic hypertension. In the initial study, we followed four groups of eight ZFR and SHR receiving special diets: a baseline diet (BD), BD + whole Maitake mushroom powder (20% w/w), BD + fraction ES (0.10% w/w), and BD + WS (0.22% w/w). We conclude that the examined forms of Maitake mushroom have antihypertensive and antidiabetic potential which differ among rat strains. The ES fraction may decrease SBP in SHR via alteration in the renin-angiotensin system.

The effect of maitake mushrooms on liver and serum lipids.
Altern Ther Health Med. 1996 Sep;2(5):62-6.
To determine the efficacy of maitake mushrooms in inhibiting the elevation of liver and serum lipids in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats with hyperlipidemia were used to measure and compare the values of cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides between cholesterol-fed rats and rats whose diets were fortified with 20% maitake mushroom dried powder. The values in maitake -fed rats were consistently less than those in the basic cholesterol-fed rats. The value of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which usually is decreased by taking high-cholesterol feed, maintained the level that it had at the beginning of the experiment. Weights of extirpated liver and epididymal fat pads were significantly less than those in the basic feed group. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that maitake mushrooms have the ability to alter lipid metabolism by inhibiting both the accumulation of liver lipids and the elevation of serum lipids. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of activity of maitake mushrooms and to establish whether their action in humans is similar to that in the animal model tested here.

Maitake Products, Inc. (MPI), a leader of research and development of Japanese Maitake mushrooms and other medicinal mushrooms, was recently named a corporate cancer research sponsor of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The awarding of this honor reflects the support that MPI is giving to the renowned cancer research and treatment center in its quest to improve methods for treating this deadly disease. In 1999, Memorial Sloan-Kettering inaugurated a department called Integrative Medicine Service, which is committed to providing complementary medicine treatment modalities to patients, in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments. This department is also responsible for carrying out clinical trials on promising complementary medicine treatments. One of the studies currently ongoing involves an extract of the Maitake mushroom specially made for the study. The goal of this study is to measure immune system activation in breast cancer patients and side effects, if any.

Maitake mushroom patent
Maitake Products, Inc., after many years of research and development with the active glycoprotein of the Maitake mushroom, has officially been granted a U.S Patent. Maitake Products, Inc., along with the inventors, has been awarded “U.S. Patent No. 7,214,778 for “GLYCOPROTEIN WITH ANTIDIABETIC, ANTIHYPERTENSIVE, ANTIOBESITY AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC EFFECTS FROM GRIFOLA FRONDOSA, AND A METHOD FOR PREPARING SAME”. Maitake Products, Inc., in collaboration with researchers in both the U.S. and Japan, have found the anti-diabetic activities of this specific glycoprotein ( SX-Fraction ) extracted from Maitake mushroom. Such researchers include Dr. Harry Preuss of Georgetown University, Dr. Hirokazu Kawagishi of Shizuoka University (Japan), and Dr. Sensuke Konno of N.Y. Medical College. SX-Fraction has been available in vegetable tablet form as a finished product by Maitake Products, Inc. The company will also offer SX-Fraction in a standardized extract form as a raw material labeled “PSX-Fraction” to qualified manufacturers.

Maitake Questions
Q. Is it okay to take lipoic acid and coQ10 the same day as a maitake mushroom extraxt?
   A. I don't see why not as long as the dosage of lipoic and coq10 are kept low.

Q. Does AHCC come from maitake mushroom?
   A. To my knowledge, AHCC is derived mostly from shiitake mushroom.

Q. Can I take a maitake mushroom supplement the same day as serrapeptase enzyme or mangosteen herb?
   A. You can probably take it with mangosteen, but there is not enough known about serrapeptase to know for sure.

Q. Do you know of any negative effects resulting from the use of Maitake D-Fraction and PawPaw Cell-Reg?
   A. Not enough human studies have been done with Maitake D-Fraction to know its full side effect profile. We are not familiar with PawPaw Cell-Reg product.

Q. Does maitake benefit anxiety?
   A. I don't have personal experience regarding maitake and anxiety treatment, and I have not seen studies in this regard.

Q. I read that maitake mushroom is good for immune system and supressing cancerous tumors. they never say how many maitake pills to take. I am sure the amount on the bottle is for general health maintenance. if you already have a cancerous tumor and are in good health otherwise, how much maitake mushroom dosage should you take? so far I am taking 9 maitake pills a day. I am going to have surgery but would like the mushrooms to be of help so want to treat it like a drug.
   A. Since human research with maitake mushroom extract is very limited, and since there are many different forms of cancer and many different types of maitake mushroom supplements and extracts, and each person is different in their response and severity of their cancer, no easy answers are available.

Q. What dose of maitake mushroom extract would you give to a 45 ld. dog that recently had her spleen removed because of tumors on the spleen. She is a healthy dog and very active. She also had a basal cell tumor removed from her side earlier this year which was cancerous. We are waiting for the biopsy results on the spleen.
   A. Regarding the use of maitake mushroom in a dog or animal is outside of our range of knowledge.

Q. I would like to know if maitake mushroom can be taken during pregnancy. I was just told by my doctor that I am pregnant.
   A. Oct 2007 - We did a search on Medline with the keywords maitake pregnancy and maitake pregnant and could not find any studies. Most likely small dosages would be safe, but we have no proof of this. As a general rule, unless necessary, it is best to minimize the used of herbs and medicines during pregnancy.
 

Maitake Mushroom 15%, 20% Polysaccharides -- maitake sx fraction
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