Trametes versicolor — formerly known as
Coriolus versicolor and
Polyporus versicolor — is an extremely common
polyporePolypores are a group of tough, leathery poroid mushrooms similar to boletes, but typically lacking a distinct stalk. The technical distinction between the two types of mushrooms is that polypores do not have the spore-bearing tissue continuous along the entire underside of the mushroom. Many...
mushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have...
which can be found throughout the world.
Versicolor means 'of several colours' and it is true that this mushroom is found in a wide variety of different colours.
T. versicolor is commonly called
Turkey Tail in the United States because of its resemblance to the tail of the
wild turkeyThe Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey, the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central America....
.
Trametes versicolor — formerly known as
Coriolus versicolor and
Polyporus versicolor — is an extremely common
polyporePolypores are a group of tough, leathery poroid mushrooms similar to boletes, but typically lacking a distinct stalk. The technical distinction between the two types of mushrooms is that polypores do not have the spore-bearing tissue continuous along the entire underside of the mushroom. Many...
mushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have...
which can be found throughout the world.
Versicolor means 'of several colours' and it is true that this mushroom is found in a wide variety of different colours.
T. versicolor is commonly called
Turkey Tail in the United States because of its resemblance to the tail of the
wild turkeyThe Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey, the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central America....
.
T. versicolor is recognized as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine under the name
yun zhi (simplified Chinese: 云芝, traditional Chinese: 雲芝). In
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
T. versicolor is used as in immunoadjuvant therapy for cancer.
Characteristics
The top surface of the cap shows typical concentric zones of different colours. Flesh 1-3 mm thick, leathery texture. Cap with rust-brown or darker brown, sometimes blackish zones, Older specimens, such as the one pictured at right, can have zones green algae growing on them, thus appearing green. Commonly grows in tiled layers. Cap flat, up to 8 x 5 x 0,5-1 centimeters, often triangular or round, with zones of fine hairs. Pore surface whitish to light brown, pores round and with age twisted and labyrinthine. 2-5 pores per millimeter
The turkey tail has
bioremediationBioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. Bioremediation may be employed to attack specific soil contaminants, such as degradation of chlorinated...
potential, according to mycologist
Paul StametsPaul Stamets is an American mycologist, author, and advocate of bioremediation and medicinal mushrooms.-Research and advocacy:...
.
T. versicolor biodegrades a variety of pollutants*.
Medicinal value
Polysaccharide-K (
Krestin,
PSK), is a
proteinProteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and folded into a globular form. The amino acids in a polymer chain are joined together by the peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues...
-bound
polysaccharidePolysaccharides are polymeric carbohydrate structures, formed of repeating units joined together by glycosidic bonds. These structures are often linear, but may contain various degrees of branching. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit...
isolated from
Trametes versicolor, which is used as an
immune systemAn immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
boosting agent in the treatment of cancer in some
EuropeanEuropean may mean:* A person or attribute of the continent of Europe* A person or attribute of the European Union* A person from a European ethnic group, or descended from one:** European American** European Latin American*** European Mexican...
countries as well as China and Japan. In
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, PSK is approved as an adjuvant for cancer therapy and is covered by government health insurance.
PSK has documented anticancer activity
in vitro,
in vivo and in human clinical trials. Research has also demonstrated that the PSK can reduce mutagen-induced, radiation-induced, and spontaneously-induced cancer development.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7606203 PSK has shown to be beneficial as an adjuvant in the treatment of gastric, esophageal, colorectal, breast and lung cancers. Human clinical trials suggest PSK can reduce cancer recurrence when used as an adjuvant and research has demonstrated the mushroom can inhibit certain human cancer cell lines
in vitro.
The United State's top ranked cancer hospital, the MD Anderson has reported that it is a "promising candidate for chemoprevention due to the multiple effects on the malignant process, limited side effects and safety of daily oral doses for extended periods of time."
See also
- Polysaccharide-K
Polysaccharide-K , is a protein-bound polysaccharide, which is used as an immune system boosting agent in the treatment of cancer in some countries in Europe as well as China and Japan. In Japan, PSK is approved as an adjuvant for cancer therapy and is covered by government health insurance...
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM , includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the western world.TCM practices include...
- Medicinal mushrooms
Many species of medicinal mushrooms have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. The use of medicinal mushrooms in folk medicine, is best documented in the East. Medicinal mushrooms are now the subject of study for many ethnobotanists and medical researchers...
- Medicinal Mushrooms: Their Therapeutic Properties and Current Medical Usage with Special Emphasis on Cancer Treatments by Cancer Research UK (the American equivalent to the US National Cancer Institute), 2001.http://sci.cancerresearchuk.org/labs/med_mush/med_mush.html
External links