Coriolus versicolor extract/Trametes versicolor extract/Polytictus vesicolor extract (Polysaccharide & Beta Glucan)
 

Coriolus versicolor (L.:Fr.) or Trametes versicolor or Polytictus vesicolor.
 

Commonly known as the "turkey tail" in North America, Coriolus versicolor (also known as Trametes versicolor), is unique among

the medicinal mushrooms, with extensive use in both traditional herbalism and modern clinical practice.The focus of the modern

clinical use and research (over 400 published studies), has been the immuno-modulating and anti-tumor properties of the hot

water extracted polysaccharides.* Originally isolated from the fruiting body (the mushroom), sales for these unique all-natural

compounds have reached several hundred million dollars a year in Japan and China, making them the most widely used products in those countries by people facing serious immune challenges.

Coriolus versicolor is found throughout the wooded temperate zones of North America, Asia, and Europe and may be the most

prolific shelf fungus in the Northern Hemisphere. The woody, shelflike fruiting bodies form dense, overlapping clusters on stumps, tree trunks, and fallen trees. The mushroom caps have a plush velvety surface and are colored in varying shades of brown or gray, with a distinctive pattern of alternating bands of dark and light color.

In Classical Chinese and Japanese herbalism the fruit bodies (mushrooms) are harvested, dried, ground to a powder and made

into tea. Given the extraction rate of the polysaccharides in a simple hot water extract (tea), it is interesting to note that the dose for

the active compounds is the same in both traditional medicine and modern clinical practice.

Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide

In traditional herbalism hot water extracts of Coriolus were used to dispel dampness, reduce phlegm, treat pulmonary infections,

and to support liver health. The Ming dynasty edition of the Materia Medica states that "The black and green Yun zhi are beneficial to one's spirit and vital energy, and strengthen one's tendon and bone. If Yun zhi is taken for a long time, it will make one vigorous and live long." In Japan these mushrooms are also highly prized and sought after by people suffering from a variety of cancers. It was

this popularity as a "folk remedy" that first got the attention of modern researchers.

Based on its reputation for healing within their traditional herbal practices Chinese and Japanese scientists began to do controlled clinical research on concentrated hot water extracts from Coriolus, studying the same 1-4, 1-3 polysaccharides (beta glucans) that would have been released into solution when making the hot water teas described in the texts from traditional Japanese and

Chinese herbalism.

After placebo controlled clinical research demonstrated significant immuno-modulating properties the Coriolus 1-4, 1-3

polysaccharides (beta glucans) were approved as a pharmaceutical product by the Japanese Health Ministry, allowing health

insurance to cover the cost of it's use.

At this point the Coriolus extract began to get widespread use by Japanese oncologists. Coriolus polysaccharides were used in

practice to support immune health after surgical treatment for various conditions and to support and protect immune health in

those patients receiving therapies where immune suppression is a prominent feature. Private and government sponsored

research continued to monitor the effectiveness of the highly concentrated Coriolus extract in placebo controlled multi-institutional

clinical studies, with the clinical evidence demonstrating significant immune benefit from daily use.

The Coriolus extract was so successful that the cost to Japan's national health insurance program reached almost a billion dollars a year. In an attempt to reduce expenditures the Health Ministry restricted the use of the Coriolus extract to those people most in

need, people receiving chemotherapy or radiation. Clinical research has consistently demonstrated the ability of Coriolus beta