Antrodia cinnamomea is a medicinal mushroom that is unique to the island country of Taiwan, where it is known as the “fungus of fortune.” It is an incredibly rare mushroom, because it only grows inside of the rotting heartwood of bull camphor trees within a certain range of elevation. The aboriginal people of Taiwan used A. cinnamomea as a traditional medicine to treat liver-related illnesses.

Modern-day studies have proven that the compounds in A. cinnamomea indeed exhibit activity that affects the liver when ingested, as well as other pharmacological effects. This article will explore the medicinal properties of Antrodia cinnamomea.

A. cinnamomea contains hepatoprotective agents, meaning that they can mitigate the harm done to the liver by toxic agents, such as alcohol. Excessive consumption of alcohol causes alcohol liver disease (ALD), and is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease globally. ALD includes fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. The ingestion of alcohol promotes fat accumulation in the liver, leading to these diseases. In a 2010 study using rats, both alcohol and the fruiting body of A. cinnamomea was given to the test animals. Examination of the liver tissue demonstrated that A. cinnamomea was effective in preventing alcohol-induced liver injuries.

Scientists have also been able to isolate sulfated polysaccharides from the mycelium of Antrodia cinnamomea. Sulfated polysaccharides at their simplest are a chain of sugars attached by a polysaccharide backbone, but recent studies have revealed that these compounds contain therapeutic properties. The sulfated polysaccharides isolated from A. cinnamomea, specifically, have anti-inflammatory properties. A 2004 study exposed extracts from A. cinnamomea mycelia to human leukocytes, which are a type of white blood cell that aid your body’s immune system by identifying and ingesting foreign substances, and producing antibodies. In the study, when the sulfated polysaccharides were administered to leukocytes, ROS production was inhibited. ROS refers to “reactive oxygen species,” the production of which causes inflammation. The study’s successful inhibition of ROS production therefore established A. cinnamomea as an anti-inflammatory.

The sulfated polysaccharides of A. cinnamomea have also been demonstrated to possess anti-cancer properties. In a 2008 study, human hepatoma (liver cancer) cells were implanted in laboratory mice. When the mice were treated with a combination of A. cinnamomea extract and anti-tumor agents, these mice survived longer than the control group, which had only been given anti-tumor agents. Therefore, the study concluded that when used as an adjuvant, A. cinnamomea extract boosts the effectiveness of anti-tumor drugs when treating cancer.

References

Geethangli & Tzeng, 2011. “Review of Pharmacological Effects of Antrodia camphorata and Its Bioactive Compounds.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nep108

Ao, Zong-Hua & Xu, Zheng-Hong & Lu, Zhen-Ming & Xu, Zhenghong & Zhang, Xiaojuan & Dou, Wen-Fang. (2008). Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata) and its potential in treating liver diseases. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 121. 194-212. 10.1016/j.jep.2008.10.039.

Liu et al (2012). “Protective Effects of Antrodia Cinnamomea Against Liver Injury.” Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2225-4110(16)30114-6

C.H. Huang, Y.Y. Chang, C.W. Liu, W.Y. Kang, Y.L. Lin, H.C. Chang, Y.C. Chen

Fruiting body of Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata) protects livers against chronic alcohol consumption damage

J Agric Food Chem, 58 (2010), pp. 3859-3866

Cheng et al, 2014. “Studies on anti-inflammatory activity of sulfated polysaccharides from cultivated fungi Antrodia cinnamomea.” Food Hydrocolloids. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2014.09.035

Shen et al, 2004. “Anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts from mycelia of Antrodia camphorata cultured with water-soluble fractions from five different Cinnamomum species.” Microbiology Letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1097(03)00953-4

Chang et al, 2008. “The adjuvant effects of Antrodia Camphorataextracts combined with anti-tumor agents on multidrug resistant human hepatoma cells.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2008.05.001

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