Maitake: benefits, dosage, contraindications
Other name(s)
Hen of the Woods, Clustered Polypore, Dancing Mushroom
Scientific name(s)
Grifola frondosa
Family or group:
Mushrooms
Active ingredients:
Beta-glucans
Indications
Rating methodology
EFSA approval.
Cancer ✪✪✪✪✪
Nanba conducted a non-randomized clinical study to evaluate the effects of the maitake D fraction in 165 patients with advanced cancer. Patients received the maitake D fraction in the form of raw powder tablets alone or in combination with chemotherapy. The author suggested that maitake is effective against cancer of the breast, liver, and lung, but less effective against leukemia, stomach, and bone cancers according to this study. If maitake was taken with chemotherapy, these response rates improved by 12 to 28%. Various side effects of chemotherapy were improved in 90% of patients. A pain reduction was also reported in 83% of patients.
Posologie
Oral route
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta glucan
A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom) in breast cancer patients: immunological effects
Maitake D-fraction: Healing and Preventive Potential for Cancer
Can maitake MD-fraction aid cancer patients?
Type 2 Diabetes ✪✪✪✪✪
Several animal studies have demonstrated the hypoglycemic effects of maitake mushroom extracts. In insulin-resistant mice, a water-soluble maitake extract ("fraction X") was associated with increased peripheral insulin sensitivity. Other research in experimentally diabetic mice showed a reduction in blood glucose levels and glucosuria with an increase in serum insulin levels. Human evidence is limited, and although a reduction in fasting blood glucose has been observed in subjects, evidence is lacking to conclude on the extent of maitake's effect in diabetes management.
Posologie
Oral route
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta glucan
Weight Control ✪✪✪✪✪
Because maitake is rich in fibers and low in calories and fats, it has been proposed as a potential aid for weight loss. Animal studies have shown that maitake, as a major component of the diet, can inhibit weight gain. In a preliminary clinical study conducted on 30 overweight patients, researchers administered maitake tablets equivalent to 200 g of fresh maitake per day for two months. Even though subjects made no changes to their usual diet, all of them lost weight. Some patients reported slightly softer stools as a side effect.
Posologie
Oral route
200 g
2 - months
fresh maitake
Dyslipidemia ✪✪✪✪✪
In a study published in 1988, dried and powdered maitake, administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats, significantly reduced VLDL and total serum cholesterol levels. More recently, Japanese scientists studied the effect of dried maitake powder on rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. The researchers found that maitake inhibited fat accumulation in the liver and caused an initial reduction in total cholesterol. By the 25th day, the difference in total cholesterol was no longer significant, but rats fed maitake maintained baseline HDL values, which generally decrease with a high-cholesterol diet.
Posologie
Oral route
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta-glucan
HIV Infection ✪✪✪✪✪
Nanba and colleagues examined the effects of 20 mg of purified MD fraction with 4 g of tablets per day over 360 days on 35 HIV-positive subjects. Researchers monitored CD4+ (helper T cells) count, viral load, symptoms of HIV infection, and subjects' sense of well-being. The effects on helper T-lymphocyte count and viral load were variable: helper T-lymphocytes increased in 20 patients, decreased in eight, and remained static in four. The viral load decreased in ten patients, increased in nine, and was static in two. However, 85% of respondents reported a sense of well-being.
Posologie
Oral route
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta-glucan
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ✪✪✪✪✪
Preliminary clinical research conducted on patients suffering from PCOS shows that taking three tablets of a specific combination product containing 250 mg of maitake mushroom powder and 18 mg of maitake SX-fraction (a glycoprotein-rich extract) three times daily from the first day of menstruation for up to 28 weeks may improve ovulation cycle rates, but doesn't seem as effective as clomiphene. After 12 weeks of treatment, patients taking the maitake mushroom product had an ovulatory cycle rate of about 42%, versus about 70% in those taking 50 mg of clomiphene daily. However, 13 of the 15 patients for whom monotherapy with maitake mushroom or clomiphene alone failed ovulated when maitake mushroom and clomiphene were used over 4 cycles.
Posologie
Oral route
800 mg
Maitake beta-glucan
Metabolic Syndrome ✪✪✪✪✪
In a human clinical trial, 10 subjects with prediabetes consumed 9.2 g per day of a low molecular weight hot water extract of Maitake for 4 weeks. Significant health benefits observed included reductions in triglyceride levels. These results indicate that Maitake could be used as a safe and healthy medicinal food to prevent and improve metabolic syndrome related to diabetes and obesity.
Posologie
Oral route
9.2 g
Properties
Immunomodulator
Laboratory research suggests that the maitake mushroom possesses immunomodulatory activities. Polysaccharides isolated from the mycelia of the maitake mushroom can enhance innate immunity by increasing phagocytosis and the cytotoxicity of natural killer cells, and therefore may serve as biological response modifiers. The "D fraction" of beta-glucan from the maitake mushroom might be the component responsible for the immune-stimulating effects.
Usages associés
Hypolipidemic
In animal research, the maitake mushroom seems to reduce plasma levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol. Indeed, research on obese mouse models fed a high-fat diet shows that consumption of a lipid-soluble maitake mushroom extract lowers total blood cholesterol levels. This effect is due to the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARd), a key regulator of lipid metabolism. Further research on rats fed a high-fat diet shows that consumption of a 95% ethanol extract of maitake mushroom reduces total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and weight.
Usages associés
Anticancer
In vitro and in vivo animal research has shown antineoplastic effects. Several antitumor mechanisms have been proposed, including the induction of nitric oxide synthase by the maitake D fraction, increased tumor necrosis factor production by macrophages, oxidative damage and apoptosis induced by beta-glucan, increased activity of Kupffer cells against neoplastic cells, enhanced lymphocyte activity, and activation of the alternative complement pathway.
Usages associés
Antioxidant
Animal studies have shown that oral administration of maitake polysaccharides improves memory disorders in aged rats through antioxidant action. Indeed, maitake polysaccharides modulated serum levels of oxidative factors such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, malondialdehyde, and reactive oxygen species, thus revealing their antioxidant properties.
Anti-inflammatory
Animal research suggests that argaricoglycerides extracted from maitake mycelia attenuate the endotoxin-induced increase in pro-inflammatory mediators, such as interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and nuclear factor-kappa B. These extracts also decrease levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1).
Cardiovascular
Maitake mushroom powder and extracts lead to a decrease in blood pressure in animal models of hypertension, as well as prevent an increase in blood pressure.
Hypoglycemic
A hypoglycemic activity has been observed in rats consuming a specific glycoprotein extracted from the maitake mushroom. An alpha-glucan from the fruit body of the maitake mushroom also showed antidiabetic effects in mice. In human research, maitake mushroom has reduced blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The extract responsible for improving insulin resistance is thought to be the water-soluble glycoprotein "SX fraction" or MSX. Polysaccharides also appear to have a hypoglycemic effect, possibly by activating insulin receptors.
Usages associés
Antiviral
A new herpes simplex anti-virus protein was purified from a maitake mushroom extract. Additionally, laboratory research suggests that the D fraction of the maitake mushroom inhibits the hepatitis B virus and presents a synergistic effect when combined with alpha-interferon. In the context of HIV, researchers have shown that the MD fraction seems to act on multiple levels: direct inhibition of HIV, stimulation of the body's natural defense system against HIV, and reduction of the body's vulnerability to opportunistic diseases.
Usages associés
Hormonal metabolism
The use of maitake mushroom for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is of some interest. In patients with PCOS, insulin resistance and the resulting hyperinsulinemia lead to hyperandrogenism. In animals, it has been demonstrated that maitake mushroom lowers blood glucose levels. A specific fraction called SX fraction (MSX) can decrease glucose and improve insulin resistance.
Usages associés
Metabolic
Maitake consumption has been shown to increase metabolic activity and decrease the synthesis of fatty acids from glucose, as well as inhibit the maturation of brown adipocytes. Additionally, a lower accumulation of triglycerides has been observed, making it a natural controller of lipid metabolism and preventive of obesity.
Usages associés
Safety dosage
Adult: 0.5 mg/kg - 1 mg/kg (Maitake beta-glucan)
In adults, maitake has been taken as capsules, tablets, and liquid extract. Doses of 0.5 to 1 mg/kg per day of maitake b2-glucan have been administered in divided doses. Human studies are limited, and safe and effective dosages haven't been established for commercial products or raw mushrooms. A polysaccharide extract of maitake has been used at a rate of 1 to 1.5 g per day for a period of up to 2 years.
Interactions
Médicaments
Antidiabetic: minor interaction
Animal research suggests hypoglycemic properties of oral maitake, although human data are limited in this area. A reduction in fasting blood glucose has been observed in humans, but there's insufficient evidence to conclude the degree of effect.
Precautions
Pregnant women: avoid
Avoid due to lack of data
Breastfeeding women: avoid
Avoid due to lack of data
