Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms are used medicinally by several cultures, but nowhere more than in China. Fungi, especially poly pores and other wood-rotting species, occupy a central role in the traditional Chinese pharmacopeia. The ling chih (Ganoderma lucidum, this page) is believed to promote well-being and longevity, and is a recurring motif in Chinese art. One of several species thought to stimulate the immune system, Grifola umbellata, has shown powerful cancer-inhibiting effects in double-blind experiments conducted in China. Both the tree ear and the shiitake lower blood cholesterol, and the latter also has anti-viral properties.

Chaga (Inonotus obliquuus) grows on birches throughout the northern hemisphere, forming large, very hard, deeply cracked black cankers that are yellow-brown within. Tea prepared from chaga is widely used by Siberians and Russians (like Olga, shown here) to enhance the immune system and combat or prevent cancer. To make chaga tea: cut into pieces with an ax and soak for 6-8 hours, then powder the soaked chunks by running them through a meat grinder. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 cup of ground chaga. Steep for an hour or two, then filter and drink, reheating it if desired (excess can be kept in a thermos). The tea is richly colored with a very mild flavor.

Since penicillin and several other “wonder drugs” are derived from fungi, one would expect mushrooms to be investigated vigorously by western medicine. Instead, they have been neglected, a tribute to the “worthless at best” aspect of fungophobia, a cultural inability to perceive mushrooms as potentially powerful. Also, there is a strong prejudice against “panaceas” as opposed to drugs with specific effects (see Andrew Weil’s comments on this page). For more information, consult Fungi Pharmacopoeia (Sinica) by Liu Bo and Bau Yun-sun (Oakland: Kinoko Company, 1980).