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
Scoring 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 as crude powder tablets alone or in combination with chemotherapy. The author suggested that maitake is effective against breast, liver, and lung cancer, 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 chemotherapy side effects were improved in 90% of patients. A reduction in pain was also reported in 83% of patients.
Posologie
Oral administration
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 demonstrated 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 was observed in subjects, evidence is lacking to conclude on the magnitude of maitake's effect in diabetes management.
Posologie
Oral administration
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta-glucan
Weight control ✪✪✪✪✪
Because maitake is rich in fiber and low in calories and fat, it has been suggested as a potential aid for weight loss. Animal studies have shown that maitake, as a major component of the diet, can inhibit weight gain. nnIn a preliminary clinical study conducted on 30 overweight patients, researchers administered to the subjects maitake tablets equivalent to 200 g of fresh maitake per day for two months. Even though the subjects made no changes to their usual diet, all lost weight. A few patients reported slightly softer stools as a side effect. nn
Posologie
Orally
200 g
2 - months
fresh maitake
Dyslipidemia ✪✪✪✪✪
In a study published in 1988, dried, powdered maitake, administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats, markedly reduced VLDL levels and total serum cholesterol. More recently, Japanese scientists studied the effect of dried maitake powder in 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 day 25, the difference in total cholesterol was no longer significant, but the rats fed maitake maintained baseline HDL values, which generally decrease with a high-cholesterol diet.
Posologie
Oral
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta-glucan
HIV infection ✪✪✪✪✪
Nanba and colleagues examined the effects of 20 mg of purified MD fraction, administered as 4 g tablets per day for 360 days, in 35 HIV-positive subjects. The researchers monitored CD4+ counts (helper T cells), viral load, symptoms of HIV infection, and the subjects' sense of well-being. Effects on helper T lymphocyte counts and viral load were variable: helper T lymphocytes increased in 20 patients, decreased in eight patients, and remained static in four patients. Viral load decreased in ten patients, increased in nine patients, and was static in two patients. However, 85% of respondents reported a sense of well-being.
Posologie
Oral
0.5 - 1 mg/kg
Maitake beta-glucan
Polycystic ovary syndrome ✪✪✪✪✪
Preliminary clinical research conducted in patients with PCOS shows that taking three tablets of a specific combined product, each containing 250 mg of maitake mushroom powder and 18 mg of maitake SX-fraction (an extract rich in glycoproteins), three times a day starting on the first day of menstruation for up to 28 weeks, may improve the rate of ovulatory cycles, but does not appear to be 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 per day. However, 13 of the 15 patients for whom monotherapy with either the maitake mushroom or clomiphene alone failed ovulated when the maitake mushroom and clomiphene were used together for 4 cycles.
Posologie
Orally
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. The significant beneficial health effects observed were reductions in triglyceride levels. These results indicate that Maitake could be used as a safe, healthy medicinal food to prevent and improve metabolic syndrome related to diabetes and obesity.
Posologie
Oral
9.2 g
Properties
Immunomodulatory
Laboratory research suggests that the maitake mushroom has immunomodulatory activities. Polysaccharides isolated from the maitake mushroom mycelia may enhance innate immunity by increasing phagocytosis and the cytotoxicity of natural killer cells, and may therefore serve as biological response modifiers. The "D fraction" of maitake beta-glucan may be the component responsible for the immunostimulatory effects.
Usages associés
Hypolipidemic
In animal research, the maitake mushroom appears to reduce plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels. Indeed, studies in obese mouse models fed a high-fat diet show that consumption of a lipid-soluble maitake mushroom extract lowers total blood cholesterol. This effect is due to activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ), a key regulator of lipid metabolism. Further studies in rats fed high-fat diets show that consumption of a 95% ethanol extract of maitake mushroom reduces total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and body weight.
Usages associés
Anticancer
In vitro and in vivo animal studies have shown antineoplastic effects. Several antitumor mechanisms have been proposed, including induction of nitric oxide synthase by the maitake D-fraction, increased production of tumor necrosis factor by macrophages, oxidative damage and beta-glucan–induced apoptosis, 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 impairments in aged rats through an antioxidant action. Indeed, maitake polysaccharides modulated serum levels of oxidative factors such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species, thereby revealing their antioxidant properties.
Anti-inflammatory
Animal research suggests that argaricoglycerides extracted from maitake mycelia attenuate endotoxin-induced increases in pro-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and nuclear factor-kappa B. These extracts also reduce 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 reduction in blood pressure in animal models of hypertension, and they also prevent increases in blood pressure.
Hypoglycemic
A hypoglycemic activity was observed in rats consuming a specific glycoprotein extracted from the maitake mushroom. An alpha-glucan from the fruiting body of the maitake mushroom also showed an antidiabetic effect in mice. In human research, the maitake mushroom reduced blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes. The extract thought to be responsible for improving insulin resistance is the water-soluble glycoprotein called "fraction SX" or MSX. Polysaccharides also appear to have a hypoglycemic effect, possibly by activating insulin receptors.
Usages associés
Antiviral
A new anti–herpes simplex virus protein was purified from an extract of the maitake mushroom. In addition, laboratory research suggests that the D fraction of the maitake mushroom inhibits hepatitis B virus and shows a synergistic effect when combined with interferon-alpha. In the context of HIV infection, researchers have shown that the MD fraction appears to act at multiple levels: by directly inhibiting HIV, stimulating the body's natural defense system against HIV, and reducing the body's susceptibility to opportunistic infections.
Usages associés
Hormonal metabolism
The use of the maitake mushroom for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has attracted some interest. In patients with PCOS, insulin resistance and the resulting hyperinsulinemia lead to hyperandrogenism. In animals, the maitake mushroom has been shown to lower blood glucose. A specific fraction called the SX (MSX) fraction can decrease glucose and improve insulin resistance.
Usages associés
Metabolic
Taking maitake 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. Furthermore, lower triglyceride accumulation has been observed, making it a natural regulator of lipid metabolism and a preventive agent against obesity.
Usages associés
Safe 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 beta-glucan were given in divided doses. Human study data are limited and safe and effective doses have not been established for commercial products or raw mushrooms. A Maitake polysaccharide extract has been used at 1 to 1.5 g per day for periods of up to 2 years.
Interactions
Médicaments
Antidiabetic: low interaction
Animal research suggests hypoglycemic properties of oral Maitake, although human data in this area are limited. A reduction in fasting blood glucose has been observed in humans, but evidence is insufficient to conclude the degree of the effect.
Precautions
Pregnant women: avoid
Avoid due to lack of data
Breastfeeding women: avoid
Avoid due to lack of data
