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Kinda interesting article about possible use

superimposedhope

Somewhat Unstable
Mycologist Paul Stamets tests over 100 mushroom extracts with NIH and USAMRIID.
Several show selective potent anti-viral properties.


Kamilche Point, Washington 24 March 2005 – Recent in vitro tests demonstrate that a
specially prepared extract from Fomitopsis officinalis is highly selective against viruses. F.
officinalis is a wood conk mushroom, known for thousands of years as Agarikon. It is
extinct or nearly so in Europe and Asia, and is still found in the old-growth forests of the
American Pacific Northwest. It may provide novel anti-viral drugs useful for protecting against
pox and other viruses.


That is the forecast of Paul Stamets, owner and director of the research laboratories of
Fungi Perfecti of Kamilche Point, Washington. He is a mycologist—a fungus expert. For the
past two years, Stamets has prepared more than a hundred strains of medicinal mushroom
extracts for testing by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of
the National Institutes of Health and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases (USAMRIID), in their joint biodefense antiviral screening program. The results to
date promise breakthroughs on this biomedical frontier.


Dr. John A. Secrist III, vice president of Southern Research Institute’s Drug Discovery
Division, who oversees an NIAID contract to evaluate potential antiviral drugs, notes that
“Several of Stamets’ medicinal mushroom extracts have shown very interesting activity
against pox viruses in cell culture assays performed through NIAID, and we are hopeful that
they will also prove effective in the animal model systems. The number of different classes of
compounds that show promising activity is small, so finding something new would be of great
benefit to the scientific community.” In fact, of more than 200,000 samples submitted over
several years, only a handful are slated for animal testing each year. In the past year,
approximately ten samples showed activity warranting approval for animal testing; of these,
two are from strains of Agarikon discovered by Stamets. Moreover, Mr. Stamets’ samples are
the only natural products extracts tested through this program that have demonstrated very
active anti-pox activity.



The NIH/USAMRIID screening program tests the mushroom extracts against viruses that
could be weaponized, including the viruses causing yellow fever, dengue, SARS, respiratory
viruses, and pox viruses. Of the Agarikon samples submitted to date, several showed potent
activity for reducing infection from vaccinia and cowpox, which are in the same family as the
smallpox virus. These extracts show activity against vaccinia and cowpox by two different viral
evaluations, demonstrating the reproducibility of the results. Stamets has filed several patents,
both US and international, on the anti-viral properties of mushrooms in the Fomitopsis
family. However, only compounds derived using Mr. Stamets’ proprietary, patent-pending
methodology for cell cultures show activity; simple extracts from the woody conks (such as tea
or infusions) are not active. Harvesting these rare conks from the forests will not provide
therapeutic benefits and could impair the reproduction of the fungus.



While several strains of extract generated strong anti-pox activity, other strains were less
potent. This underscores the importance of conserving mycodiversity. More potent strains may
yet be discovered. As for F. officinalis, this mushroom was first described 2000 years ago as
an anti-inflammatory medicine by Dioscorides, the Greek physician in his text Materia Medica.


“The ecological niche for these unique mushrooms is increasingly jeopardized as humans
destroy old-growth habitats,” comments Stamets. “As this happens, the pool of available
strains will be further reduced. Acquiring as many strains as possible should be an
international priority so that preventive or curative medicines against pox and related viruses
can be developed. Personally, I believe we should be saving our old growth forests as a
matter of national defense.” Besides having a direct anti-viral or anti-bacterial effect,
mushroom derivatives can also activate the natural immune system. Evaluations in an animal
model are planned for the near future. “Until then,” Stamets cautions, “we cannot draw
conclusions about the ultimate effectiveness of these mycologically based antivirals.” Testing
against other viruses continues. Stamets has already been granted a patent on fungus-derived
products; several more are in the offing. His research has been self-funded from his other
businesses.


yet2.com is Stamets’ partner for licensing and commercializing his intellectual property.



About Fungi Perfecti



Paul Stamets has written six books, several used as textbooks around the world by the
gourmet and medicinal mushroom industry. Fungi Perfecti, LLC ( www.fungi.com) was founded
in 1980; it has four laboratories, 10,000 sq. ft. of clean rooms, and is equipped with 17
laminar flow benches for doing in vitro propagation work. The culture collection of Fungi
Perfecti consists of hundreds of cultures of medicinal mushrooms, many isolated from the old-
growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Stamets has received several environmental awards,
including the 1998 "Bioneers Award" from The Collective Heritage Institute, and the 1999
"Founder of a New Northwest Award" from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource
Conservation and Development Councils. He is an advisor to the Program of Integrative
Medicine at the University of Arizona, Tucson; serves on the Editorial Board of The
International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, and was appointed to the G.A.P. (Good
Agricultural Practices)/G.M.P. (Good Manufacturing Practices) advisory board of the U.S.
Pharmacopoeia. Dr. Andrew Weil and David Eisenberg of Harvard Medical School are
recommending Stamets’ products for immune support. Stamets is the sole-source supplier
and co-investigator of the first NIH-funded clinical study using medicinal mushrooms in the
United States. He is involved in several other research trials ongoing and pending. His
company is the sponsor of the Third International Medicinal Mushroom Conference to be held
in Port Townsend, Washington Oct. 12-17, 2005 where researchers from around the world
will convene to discuss the latest developments in the use of medicinal mushrooms as sources
for new antiviral and anticancer drugs.


About USAMRIID



The US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, located at Fort Detrick,
Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research
Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The
Institute’s mission is to conduct basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in
medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter.
USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel
Command.



About yet2.com Inc.



yet2.com provides intellectual property consulting and licensing services to clients around
the globe. yet2.com Inc and its online marketplace was founded in 1999 to promote
technology licensing and transfer, with joint investment from Siemens, Bayer, Honeywell,
DuPont, Procter & Gamble, Caterpillar, and NTT Leasing. The privately-held company has
offices in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Its clientele consists of a quarter of the
Fortune 1000. yet2.com draws upon its global network of technology leaders in thousands of
companies across all industries, to establish productive dialogs quickly
 
One of his funding businesses is where I get my Mycorrhiza from - good stuff.

Joe
 
lol, when i saw this i wasn't thinking what you were thinking.

first word i thought of was "locked" lol
 
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smile_m_32.gif


Not that kind of mushroom, silly boy!
 
I REALLY want to buy some of the mushroom kits but dang I'm so cheap!
anyway... this isn't just about mycodiversity, but biodiversity. conservation people!
 
lol, you remind me of Carson when you say that. he says "Fashion, people!"
 
wow, I've seen polypores up there in the forest. I wonder if I saw Agarikon specifically. Y'all are referring to "Johnny Carson" right? Old host of the Tonight Show?
 
  • #10
CARSON KRESSLEY!

Queer eye!
 
  • #13
Oh! That show. The original is better than the new one, with that lady "Honey" in it.
 
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