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Medicinal Fungi in History
5,300 years ago, an injured and starving man from Val Venosta, Italy, fled across an Alpine glacier to escape pursuers. But his enemies caught up with him and with a practiced arrow-shot penetrated his shoulder blade and subclavian artery. Before long, he was dead from blood loss. "Oetzi the Iceman" was found mummified in 1991. On his person were pouches containing mushroom remedies, the oldest known proof in existence of medicinal mushrooms usage.
One of the mushrooms was Birch polypore - Piptoporus betulinus - which it is believed he used as a remedy against intestinal parasites. Eggs of the whipworm parasite (Trichuris trichiura) were found in his intestines. The other mushroom in the possession of Oetzi was Tinder fungus - Fomes fomentarius - which has been traditionally used in Europe to cauterize wounds and stop bleeding.
Both of these are polypores, so named because they have pores instead of gills underneath. No species of polypore is known to be poisonous. They usually grow on trees, dead or alive.
Few polypores are edible because they are hard and fibrous. But people in the Orient as well as the Occident have used them to treat a multitude of diseases for ages. Usually in the form of a tea that would be brewed and drunk; sometimes as a poultice placed on a wound or over an aching body part.
Oral traditions of Native Americans bear tale of many types of polypores being used to help against the diseases brought by the Europeans, including Birch polypore but also Reishi (Ganoderma resinaceum), Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) and the now almost vanished species Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis).
Although nearly extinct today, Agarikon was once common in the old-growth forests of ancient Europe. Greek physician Dioscorides referred to Agarikon as a remedy for tuberculosis in Materia Medica, 65 B.C. It's the earliest record of a medicinal mushroom in European literature. Two millennia later, the historic use of Agarikon in Poland was put down in writing in the article Medicinal mushrooms in Polish Folk Medicine by K. Grzywnowics. Again, it included lung conditions, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and infected wounds.
Up to this point, we've only covered the use of medicinal mushrooms in the West. However, their use has been far more widespread in Asia. There are at least three Asian species that would be criminal to leave out of any article on the history of medicinal mushrooms.
First out is Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), sometimes nicknamed the "Mushroom of Immortality" due to its wide range of healing properties. Reishi was mentioned in Shen Nong's Herbal Classic from around 2,000 years ago. Many ancient Oriental temples and wood-carvings include images of this highly revered "cure-all" fungus.
Next is Cordyceps, a minute fungus from the Tibetan plateau, parasitising on silk caterpillars. Cordyceps sinensis was first mentioned as a medicinal mushroom in The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman from 200 A.D. It is popular with athletes to improve physical stamina. Historically, it's been used as an aphrodiciac.
Finally there is the Shiitake mushroom, which today is a common household name even in the West. In Asia, however, it is known to have been cultivated as a gourmet mushroom for at least a thousand years. What may surprise is that Shiitake is also one of the most researched medicinal mushrooms in the world. Its potential uses range from energizing tonic to immune-booster and antibiotic with anti-tumor properties.
Modern research into medicinal use of mushrooms began in earnest in the late 1960's Japan. One pioneer, Dr. Ikekawa, discovered that families of mushroom growers had significantly lower cancer rates than their surrounding communities. Scientific research into medicinal mushrooms has expanded exponentially since that time and continues to increase and intensify until this day. Medicinal mushrooms are still in the process of making history.
Note: This article is for informational purpose only. None of the mushrooms mentioned herein have been approved for medicinal use by the FDA. Never use any mushroom medicinally without consulting a licensed medical practitioner.
About the Author Dr. Rafael has worked in the natural health field since the mid-90's as a researcher and author, now specializing in fungi for health. Click medicinal mushrooms for more articles and mushroom products. The material for this article comes from several different sources. However, a large portion comes from the literature of medicinal fungi expert Paul Stamets, who deserves special credit and thanks.
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