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Chaga

Chaga

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  • Inonotus obliquus, a mushroom commonly known as "chaga," is widely used in folk medicine in Siberia, North America, and northern Europe. Chaga is a member of the Basidiomycetes (true mushrooms) family and widely distributed in Europe, Russia, and the northern regions of Japan. When growing on the tree, chaga produces a black, long-lasting woody growth called a "conk," which absorbs nutrients and important chemicals from the wood. When the chaga conk flower ripens, it falls to the forest floor. It is estimated that only about 0.025% of trees will grow a chaga conk, making the chaga mushroom somewhat rare.
  • Chaga mushrooms have been used in folk medicine since the 16th Century as a remedy for cancer, stomach problems, ulcers, and tuberculosis of the bones. Chaga has been collected and consumed for centuries in Asia. Although medicinal use of chaga and other mushrooms is rare in Western countries, reports have described its nutritional value and the value of the biologically active starches and other plant compounds (flavonoids and lipids) that it contains.
  • Some reports describe chaga as having the following effects: antibacterial; antiviral; toxic; immune system-regulating; anticancer; cardiovascular; pain-relieving; blood sugar-lowering; and plant, insect, or worm-killing activities. However, there is currently a lack of evidence to support using chaga to treat any medical condition.
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  2. Hyun, K. W., Jeong, S. C., Lee, D. H., Park, J. S., and Lee, J. S. Isolation and characterization of a novel platelet aggregation inhibitory peptide from the medicinal mushroom, Inonotus obliquus. Peptides 2006;27(6):1173-1178. View Abstract
  3. Kahlos, K., Hellen, L., Nummila, H., and Hiltunen, R. Experiments on Cultures of Inonotus obliquus. Planta Med 1986;52(6):507-508. View Abstract
  4. Kahlos, K., Kangas, L., and Hiltunen, R. Antitumor Activity of Triterpenes in Inonotus obliquus. Planta Med 1986;52(6):554. View Abstract
  5. Kim, Y. O., Park, H. W., Kim, J. H., Lee, J. Y., Moon, S. H., and Shin, C. S. Anti-cancer effect and structural characterization of endo-polysaccharide from cultivated mycelia of Inonotus obliquus. Life Sci 5-30-2006;79(1):72-80. View Abstract
  6. Kim, H. G., Yoon, D. H., Kim, C. H., Shrestha, B., Chang, W. C., Lim, S. Y., Lee, W. H., Han, S. G., Lee, J. O., Lim, M. H., Kim, G. Y., Choi, S., Song, W. O., Sung, J. M., Hwang, K. C., and Kim, T. W. Ethanol extract of Inonotus obliquus inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. J Med Food 2007;10(1):80-89. View Abstract
  7. Lee, I. K., Kim, Y. S., Jang, Y. W., Jung, J. Y., and Yun, B. S. New antioxidant polyphenols from the medicinal mushroom Inonotus obliquus. Bioorg.Med Chem.Lett. 12-15-2007;17(24):6678-6681. View Abstract
  8. Najafzadeh, M., Reynolds, P. D., Baumgartner, A., Jerwood, D., and Anderson, D. Chaga mushroom extract inhibits oxidative DNA damage in lymphocytes of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Biofactors 2007;31(3-4):191-200. View Abstract
  9. Nakata, T., Yamada, T., Taji, S., Ohishi, H., Wada, S., Tokuda, H., Sakuma, K., and Tanaka, R. Structure determination of inonotsuoxides A and B and in vivo anti-tumor promoting activity of inotodiol from the sclerotia of Inonotus obliquus. Bioorg.Med Chem. 1-1-2007;15(1):257-264. View Abstract
  10. Park, Y. K., Lee, H. B., Jeon, E. J., Jung, H. S., and Kang, M. H. Chaga mushroom extract inhibits oxidative DNA damage in human lymphocytes as assessed by comet assay. Biofactors 2004;21(1-4):109-112. View Abstract
  11. Song, Y., Hui, J., Kou, W., Xin, R., Jia, F., Wang, N., Hu, F., Zhang, H., and Liu, H. Identification of Inonotus obliquus and analysis of antioxidation and antitumor activities of polysaccharides. Curr.Microbiol. 2008;57(5):454-462. View Abstract
  12. Taji, S., Yamada, T., Wada, S., Tokuda, H., Sakuma, K., and Tanaka, R. Lanostane-type triterpenoids from the sclerotia of Inonotus obliquus possessing anti-tumor promoting activity. Eur.J Med Chem. 2008;43(11):2373-2379. View Abstract
  13. Wasser, S. P. and Weis, A. L. Therapeutic effects of substances occurring in higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms: a modern perspective. Crit Rev.Immunol. 1999;19(1):65-96. View Abstract
  14. Youn, M. J., Kim, J. K., Park, S. Y., Kim, Y., Kim, S. J., Lee, J. S., Chai, K. Y., Kim, H. J., Cui, M. X., So, H. S., Kim, K. Y., and Park, R. Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) induces G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. World J Gastroenterol. 1-28-2008;14(4):511-517. View Abstract
  15. Zjawiony, J. K. Biologically active compounds from Aphyllophorales (polypore) fungi. J Nat.Prod. 2004;67(2):300-310. View Abstract