Paper
Medicinal Value of Turkey Tail Fungus Trametes versicolor (L.:Fr.) Pilát (Aphyllophoromycetideae)
Published 2005 · C. Hobbs
International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms
26
Citations
2
Influential Citations
Abstract
Trametes versicolor, formerly Coriolus versicolor, is a common fan-shaped polypore fungus of dead and dying trees throughout the world, which is an important part of forest ecology as a primary decomposer of hardwood. Th e fungus is characterized among the white-rot basidiomycetes. T. versicolor produces a laccase used to detoxify xenobiotics such as polychlorinated biphenyls, dyes, and a variety of synthetic polymers and as a pulp biobleach for making paper. Turkey tail is arguably the best-researched medicinal mushroom, with a number of controlled clinical trials demonstrating increased long-term survivability in patients with gastrointestinal cancers, and to a lesser degree other cancers, with oral application of concentrated extracts of the fruit bodies and mycelium, particularly PSK and PSP. Th ese commercially produced extracts are often prescribed along with chemotherapy for treating cancer in Japan and are paid for by national health care. PSK and PSP have demonstrated a wide range of
Turkey tail fungus has been shown to increase long-term survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers when applied orally, with potential benefits for other cancers as well.
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