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The Chaga mushroom also known as tinder mushroom, is s a parasitic fungus of the Birch and other trees. It causes the tree's death in 5-7 years, and is known as "birch cancer" in Russia, but like many medicinal mushrooms contains many of its own anti-tumor compounds.
Since the 16th century, Chaga Mushroom has been used in the botanical medicine of the Eastern European countries as a remedy for cancer and gastritis, ulcers, tuberculosis (TB) of the bones.
The antimutagenic action of the molecules found in the white part of birch bark where chaga feeds inhibit free-radical oxidation; and, induce the production of interferons, which help induce DNA repair. Its active chemicals contribute to the decrease of hypoxia and increase of the stability of an organism with oxygen deficiency, by correcting the metabolism of cells. The anti-cancer properties of betulin or betulinic acid, a chemical isolated from birch trees, is now being studied for use as a chemotherapeutic agent. Chaga contains large amounts of betulinic acid in a form that can be ingested orally, and it also contains the full spectrum of immune-stimulating phytochemicals.
In 1998 there was a study in Poland that demonstrated Chaga's inhibiting effects on tumor growth. The study found that betulin seems to work highly selectively on tumor cells because the interior pH of tumor tissues is generally lower than that of normal tissues, and betulinic acid is only active at those lower levels. Once inside the cells, betulinic acid induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the tumors. In 2005, at Department of Medical Nutrition in South Korea Chaga Mushroom was evaluated for their potential for protecting against oxidative damage to DNA in human lymphocytes. The study found that the polyphenolic extract protected these cells against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress.
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Grown in forests of Russia, Korea, Eastern Europe, Northern areas of the North Carolina mountains. The conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal.
In 1958, scientific studies in Finland and Russia found this mushroom provided an epochal effect in breast cancer, liver cancer, uterine cancer, and gastric cancer, as well as in hypertension and diabetes. Herbalist David Winston maintains that it is the strongest anti-cancer medicinal mushroom
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