FUNGI AND CHINESE MEDICINE

Ancient China was shrouded in an atmosphere of magic. The concept of a miracle-cure for
mortality had become nothing short of a cult.
• China's self-proclaimed First Emperor, Shih Huang Ti (2697 B.C.) the Yellow Emperor
(whose Great Wall stands even today) had many temples erected to the immortals in an effort
to lure those with knowledge of manufacturing elixirs.
• During this time, stories were circulating that living on some mountainous isles out to sea
were not one but many immortals and nearby, the 'herb of deathlessness', a magical
mushroom (chih).
• Should it be eaten, one would immediately attain long life and immortality. An official report
related that such a plant was seen held in the beaks of raven-like birds that flew to the site of a
massacre in the far western reaches of the empire at Ferghana. They had placed the plant on
the dead men's faces, whereupon the corpses 'immediately sat up and were restored to life'.
The 'herb of deathlessness' was identified as 'the (magic) mushroom that nourishes the spirit
(yan shen chih).
• "The Emperor was of course thrilled and with a Taoist named Hsu Fu as admiral, in B.C. 219
he dispatched a whole fleet of ships and 500 young subjects (250 girls and 250 boys) to sail to
the east and not come back till they found the mushroom or herb of deathlessness. One
account says that Admiral Hsu Fu never returned. Another recounts that after reaching their
destination Hsu Fu proclaimed himself king. Many believe that the destination was Japan."
• Shih Huang Ti was so obsessed with this elixir and longevity that it finally became his
downfall. The Emperor had decided that all knowledge was going to start with him, so he
burned all of the books in the empire, rewriting the ones he wanted.
•In some of the most secret books were versions of the elixir's formula.
•The formula called for the use of large amounts of mercury, to make the big red pill of
immortality.
•Though not sure of the exact formula (because he had destroyed all of the books) the
Emperor decreed that the pill be concocted.
•The mercury was to increase the power of Shen Qi (the spirit energy0. The problem was
that the mercury is extremely toxic.
•After the Shen Qi was caused to burn brighter and stronger, the toxic effect would kill a
person.
•At this stage a specific formula based on the herb of deathlessness was given to stop the
rage of the mercury poisoning while keeping the Sheng Qi burning bright to bring
about the state of longevity.
•It appears that Shih Huang Ti either didn't have the formula right or didn't get the herb of
deathlessness in time. He sent may servants up into the mountains to find it and that
he himself ventured out to find it. Ultimately, he died searching for the right fungus
elixir for mercury poisoning.
•In the ancient quest for an elixir of longevity, there were five kinds of Chih: Stone chih,
grass chih, wood chih, flesh chih and mushroom chih. Of the mushroom chih there
were supposed to be 120 kinds of these substances. They ranged in potency,
producing a short longevity of 100 years, up to the potent forms which ensured a life
of over 1,000 years.

1
DYNAMIC REVIVAL OF TRADITIONALCHINESE MEDICINE
Two major causes:
1. General program on the part of the People's Republic for preserving its national heritage
2. A realistic assessment of prevailing medical conditions. It had become obvious to the
Communist regime that the 70,000 Western-trained physicians in all of China could
not possible provide adequate medical care for a population then numbered 650
million.
TAOISM
Tao (The Way) is the key to the mysterious intermingling of 'Heaven and Earth', tao means the
way and the method of maintaining the harmony between this world and the beyond, that is, by
shaping earthly conduct to correspond completely with the demands of the other world.
• The concept of Tao was subdivided into the Tao of Heaven, the Tao of the Earth, and the Tao
of Man, one fitting into the other as an indivisible entity.
• It was inevitable that Tao in its dual role as the supreme regulator of the universe and as the
highest code of conduct should play an important part in early Chinese medicine, which was
inextricably entwined with philosophical concepts.
• Those who follow Tao achieve the formula of perpetual youth and maintain a youthful body.
YIN AND YANG
Theory of creation--the dual power that arose from the primary state of chaos--the instigator of all
change. The principle of Yin and Yang is the basis of the entire universe. It is the principle of
everything in creation. It brings about the transformation to parenthood; it is the root and source
of life and death. Heaven was created by an accumulation of Yang; the Earth was created by an
accumulation of Yin.
A literal translation for the characters of Yin and Yang:
• Yin--the shady side of a hill; Yang--the sunny side of a hill.
Yang stands for sun, heaven, day, fire, heat, dryness, and light; Yang tends to expand , to flow
upwards and outwards.
• Yin stands for moon, earth, night, water, cold and dampness and darkness; Yin tends to
contract and to flow downwards.
• Yang sends fertility in the form of sun (and rain) upon the earth, hence the man being Yang
and the wife being Yin.
• In the general grouping of the orifices, the eyes and the ears belong to the region of Yang, and
the mouth and the "lower orifices (anus and urethra) belong to the region of Yin.
Why do not people live as long as the ancients (over a hundred)?
In ancient times those people who understood Tao patterned themselves upon the Yin and the
Yang and they lived in harmony with the arts of divination.
• There was temperance in eating and drinking. Their hours of rising and retiring were regular
and not disorderly and wild. By these means the ancients kept their bodies united with their
souls, so as to fulfill their allotted span completely, measuring unto a hundred years before
they passed away.
• Nowadays people are not like this; they use wine as beverage and they adopt recklessness as
usual behavior. They enter the chamber of love in an intoxicated condition; their passions
exhaust their vital forces; their cravings dissipate their true essence; they do not know how to
find contentment within themselves; they are not skilled in the control of their spirits. Their
rising and retiring is without regularity. For these reasons they reach only one half of the
hundred years and then they degenerate.

2
EXAMPLE OF YIN AND YANG AND AIDS
According to Chinese medicine, most AIDS victims are already essentially dead by the nature of
their lifestyles.
• The Universe is made up of positively charged energy or Yang, and negatively charged
energy or Yin energy.
Ex. The average male is made up of Yin and Yang energies. A male will have more Yang
than Yin. 80 points of Yang and 20 points of Yin. The difference between these
forces is called Qi. 80-20 = 60 points of Qi.
• A homosexual that has taken on a certain amount of female or Yin energy, say 75 points.
This means that the difference between Yin and Yang poles Qi = 5 points. This is barely
enough energy to keep the basic functions going. It is certainly not enough energy to enhance
the protective energies of the immune system. In this devitalized state, the body is
susceptible to a large range of opportunistic organisms. HIV just happens to be a prominent
one. It attacks the T-lymphocyte system. This is the Yang or male part of the immune
system, and since this is what is weak this is what HIV attacks.
CLASSES OF MEDICINES
Low
Middle
High
HIGHEST CLASS OF MEDICINES
Tonics which are said to impart strength, vigor and longevity. Fall into the category of remedies
called "fu zheng", or "supporting the normal" (maintaining homeostasis).

Ling zhi (China) or Reishi (Japan)--Ganoderma lucidum

One of the most famous medicinal mushrooms. It has been used for thousands of years to treat:
liver disease (such as hepatitis)
nephritis (kidney inflammation)
• high blood pressure
• arthritis
• neurasthenia
• insomnia
• bronchitis
• asthma
• gastric ulcers.
• It is also said to benefit the heart.
• Also has antihypercholesterolemic properties.
In the past, G. lucidum was very expensive, because it only grew in the wild, but cultivation
techniques developed in the last 20 years have not made it accessible and affordable.
Today this is used especially for aging-related and degenerative conditions, such as cancer and as
an immune stimulant.

3
Bai mu erh--Tremella fuciformis (Snow Fungus)
Used in china since ancient times as a Qi and immune tonic, as well as a nutritive tonic for
treating debility and exhaustion.
• It is said to enhance beauty
• gonadal activity
• reduce fevers
• heal ulcers.
• It is recommended in China to be taken for weakness after childbirth, constipation, abnormal
menstruation, dysentery, and gastritis.
• Also has antihypercholesterolemic properties.
• The method of administration is a lukewarm watery preparation made by soaking 3-4 grams
of the white fungus for 1-2 hours, then cooking it down into a paste in an earthen pot.
• If the advice to "add enough crystal sugar to take twice daily" is commonly followed, its
popularity might be considerably enhanced in the west.
Mu Erh--Auricularia auricula, wood ear
Wood decomposer on branches of standing shrubs and trees.
• Used for thousands of years in China it is still on of the most often used medicinal fungi.
• Five kinds of mu erh; each kind was said to take on the properties of the tree upon which it
was growing:
1. Mu erh. Said to make the body light and strong, strengthens the will. Used to treat
hemorrhoids and as a stomach tonic.
2. Che erh-grows on Cudrania triloba. Used to treat respiratory diseases.
3. Yang lu erh--grows on Diervilla versicolor. Used to disperse ecchymoses and move the
blood.
4. Shan chün--grows on Cunninghamia sinensis. Relieves cardiac pain
5. T'ao chi sheng--grows on peach. Aborts abscesses and treats diarrhea to cold.
• A. auricula was boiled in milk, beer, vinegar or any other liquid and taken for inflammation
of the throat. It was applied locally for eye irritations because of its high mucilage content
and ability to hold medicated eye water.
• Owing to possible anti-fertility effects it should not be taken by pregnant or lactating women
and those planning to conceive.

4
Cordyceps sinensis and C. ophiglossoides--"winter worm, summer herb"
Produce their fruiting structures on caterpillars. They were rare in ancient China, so only the
Emperor had the luxury of using them.
These fungi had the same tonic properties of ginseng
• they were used to build stamina and restore vital energy after exhaustion or prolonged illness.
• Used to stimulate blood circulation and treat menstrual disorders.
• Used as a lung and kidney tonic and as a nutritional supplement to build vital energy in the
elderly.
• It was also used traditionally for impotence, and as an antidote for opium poisoning and to
cure the habit of opium eating.
• An article in Newsweek (Sept. 27, 1993) reported on the female Chinese long-distance
runners who swept the distance events in the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships
in Stuttgart, Germany. The coach credits the success to hard training and a special diet which
includes a "mineral-rich" soup containing dong chong xia cao (C. sinensis).
• The ancient Chinese way of preparing the fungus was to stuff five drams of the fungus into
the stomach of a duck and slowly roasting it over a fire until it was well cooked. The fungus
was removed, and the duck was eaten twice a day for 8-10 days.

Shiitake (Japan) Hoang-mo or Xiang Gu (China)--Lentinula edodes

Japanese used it at least as far back as 199 A.D. It was said to be praised by the Emperor Chuai
who was given the mushroom by the Kyusuyu, a native tribe. In ancient China it was known and
revered even before that.
• In the past and currently, it was used for any and all conditions where the immune function
needs a boost, from colds to cancer and everything in between.
• Numerous scientific studies have confirmed immune system stimulant, antiviral and
anticancer (antitumor) effects.
• Second most produced mushroom in the world, after Agaricus bisporus (the white button
mushroom).

Hoelen (Chinese) or Tuckahoe (Native American)--Wolfiporia cocos

Fu ling--Chinese name of the sclerotium
Fu ling pi--the skin of the sclerotium
Bai fu ling--the inner portion of the sclerotium
• Used as food and medicine.
• Sclerotia could weigh 15-30 pounds and Native Americans used it to make a kind o bread. It
was also used as a survival food for slaves running from capture.
• Has been used to invigorate the spleen, tonify the stomach, clear dampness, as a sedative,
tranquilizer and diuretic.
• The inner white portion is used to strengthen the vital energy, soothe agitation and lower
blood sugar. Used as a decoction for coughs, and edema and the sliced, whole sclerotium is
used to treat jaundice and as an antifertility drug to induce menstruation.
• Scientific tests have found antitumor properties, immunostimulating activities.

5
Volvariella volvacea--straw mushroom
One of the most widely cultivated edible mushrooms in the world.
• In Asia it is an important source of protein. It is one of the easiest of all mushrooms to
cultivate, with a crop completed from spawning to harvest in 10 days.
• Used to lower blood pressure and inhibit certain types of tumor cells.

Ginseng (Shi-yang Seng)--the essence of man Panax japonicus, Panax quinquefolius

• According to the "Herbal Classic of the Divine Plowman" published around 100 B.C. during
the West Han Dynasty, ginseng is able to "support the five visceral organs, calm the nerves,
tranquilize the mind, stop convulsions, expunge evil spirits, clear the eyes, and improve the
memory".
• The Chinese called it a "Dose of Immortality."
• Significant decrease in heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen demand. Reputed to be
effective in the treatment of shock, collapse of the cardiovascular system, hemorrhaging and
heat failure. Ginseng is effective in the treatment of mild hyperglycemia; usually blood sugar
level can be lowered 40-50 mg/dl after continuous administration for 2 weeks. Daily
administration was supposed to restore the yin and yang, increasing the longevity of men or
women.
• For thousands of years the cultivation and harvesting of ginseng was considered to be a royal
prerogative. Areas in which ginseng was collected were not open for public use. Many local
residents would risk their lives to steal the herb for their own use or to sell the root to the
wealthy. During the Chin dynasty, a law was passed that anyone caught stealing ginseng
would be beheaded, his helpers would receive 40 strokes with a wooden plank, and their
families and animals sent to government storage areas for disposition.

Astragalus--Astragalus membranceus
• As an herbal remedy, this plant has been used for high blood pressure and for nephritis.
• The dried root of this plant was used for anorexia, weakness, rectocele and prolapse of the
uterus. Usually used in combination with Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes foetida in a
decoction.
• For the common cold, combine with Ledebouriella seseloides and Atractylodes
macrocephala in a decoction.
• For edema and oligouria, combine with Stephania tetrandra, Atractylodes macrocephala and
Glycyrrhiza uralensis and then decoct.
• For arthritic pain and numbness, combine with Cinnamomum cassia, Zingiber officinale,
Paeonia lactiflora, Zizyphus jujuba and decoct or combine with Angelica sinensis and decoct.
• Extracts of Astagalus membranaceus have shown in vitro antibacterial effects, as well as
hypoglycemic activity.
Kombucha, Manchurian tea
• The first recorded use of the tea was during the Chinese empire of the Tsim-Dynasty in 221
B.C. It was known as "The Remedy for Immortality" or "The Divine Tsche"(Tsche means
tea).
• It is a tough jelly-like "skin" which is really a complex association of bacteria (Acetobacter
aceti, Gluconobacter oxydans) and yeasts (Pichia fermentans and Kloeckera apiculata).
• Over the last 50 years (and probably much longer), Kombucha has enjoyed cycles of
popularity in many countries.

6
• Kombu tea is sold throughout Japan and many parts of Europe and is very popular.
• Health claims include anti-aging effects, restoration of hair, cancer prevention. Treatment for
gout, rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, constipation, mental fatigue and low
sex drive.
• Grown in a tea infusion and sugar. The microbes transform the sugar into small amounts of
alcohol, much of which is ultimately changed to acetic acid by the bacteria. This gives the
"tea" a sweet and sour taste and smell of fermenting apple cider. The finished tea contains an
average of 0.5-1% alcohol, lactic acid (and other organic acids). If black tea is used in the
infusion, small amounts of caffeine are present. Simple sugar content in the finished product,
even when table sugar is used, is about 3%.
HOW FUNGI WERE USED
• Besides the use of single mushrooms in teas and soups in folk medicine and in hospitals
• Many products in tablet form that combine a number of herbs in one formula.
They are made by freeze-drying a tea, creating a powder which is then made into small
pills.
• Modern fermentation technology has allowed active compounds such as
•Large molecular weight polysaccharides
•Protein-bound polysaccharides
• Are being extracted from fruiting bodies, spores and mycelium of the most popular medicinal
mushrooms.
WHAT IS GOOD--The active compounds
Bai Mu Erh
semi purified polysaccharides
sterols (ergosterol)
fatty acids

Cordyceps
Protein
Carbohydrates
Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
Amino acids
Protein bound polysaccharides with known anti-tumor properties

Shiitake
Proteins
Lipids
Carbohydrates
Polysaccharides
Minerals (esp. potassium, calcium)
Ergosterol (a provitamin which converts to vitamin D in the presence of sunlight
All essential Amino Acids (esp. lysine and arginine)

7
Hoelen
Polysaccharides
Protein-bound polysaccharides
Triterpenes and triterpenoids
Ergosterol and other sterols
Fatty acids

Ginseng
Volatile oil
Saponins (panaxosides or ginsenosides)
Antioxidants
Peptides
Polysaccharides
Fatty acids
Vitamins

Astragalus
Glucoside--astragalin
Canavanine
Homoserine

Mu Erh
Protein
Minerals, esp. calcium, phosphorus and iron
Carotene
Polysaccharides (glucans and acidic heteroglycans)

Straw mushroom
Cardiotoxic proteins--volvatoxin and flammutoxin
Ergosterol