15 Mushrooms Used In Medicine

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Many wonderful qualities of mushrooms are known. For example, thanks to the fungus Penicillium notatum, the first natural antibiotic, penicillin, was obtained almost 80 years ago. Humanity owes millions of lives saved to this discovery.

For centuries, traditional medicine has used common (forest) mushrooms, which, in addition to antibacterial activity, have other healing properties. Official science has been studying them in recent decades. Natural components have been isolated from mushrooms that have a beneficial effect on the human body and help get rid of a variety of health problems.

Fly agaric

The cap of the red fly agaric contains muscarufin, a pigment with antibacterial activity. In addition, the mushroom tincture is used to rub inflamed joints, helps with arthritis, rheumatism, atherosclerosis, and neuralgia. Taking small doses inside normalizes the endocrine glands and increases the overall tone of the body.

To prepare the tincture, a three-liter jar is tightly filled with amanita caps. The container is sealed and buried in the ground. After 40 days, a liquid is formed in the jar, which has a dark color and a characteristic odor. It is drained, mixed with an equal amount of vodka and stored in the refrigerator.

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Borovik (porcini mushroom)

There is an opinion that the regular inclusion of porcini mushrooms in the diet can reduce the risk of developing malignant neoplasms, but this has not yet been confirmed. But in boletus mushrooms, substances were found that suppress the activity of some types of pathogenic intestinal microflora and help improve digestion. The alkaloid herzenine contained in these mushrooms relieves the condition of patients with angina pectoris. Traditional medicine uses boletus to treat tuberculosis and metabolic disorders. Such drugs also help with anemia and loss of strength. External use of porcini mushroom extract is indicated for non-healing ulcers and frostbite.

Regular intake of tincture of boletus caps helps to reduce blood viscosity, which is very important for patients with arterial hypertension and angina pectoris. In addition, the agent is used to treat benign neoplasms of the female genital area (fibroids, cysts, etc.).

To prepare the medicine, the caps of porcini mushrooms are crushed, poured into a liter jar "shoulder-length" and poured with vodka, infused for two weeks in a dark place, then the raw material is squeezed out, and the liquid is filtered. The medicine is taken twice a day 30 minutes before meals, diluting a teaspoon of the drug in 50 ml of water.

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Oiler

Boletus tincture is prepared in the same way as the mushroom cap extract. It helps with gout and stubborn headaches. Topically used for rubbing painful joints at night.

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Meadow champignon

Agaridoxin, a natural antibiotic with high antimicrobial activity, was found in champignons. Mushroom extract is taken for tuberculosis, paratyphoid fever and typhoid fever. Externally used to treat purulent processes and wound healing.

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Pepper milk

This mushroom contains the antibiotic lactarioviolin, which can suppress the vital activity of many pathogenic microorganisms (including the causative agent of tuberculosis). In addition, preparations made from milk mushrooms help with kidney stones.

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Veselka ordinary

Veselka is extremely appreciated by traditional healers. An alcoholic tincture made from a dried mushroom or a raw gelatinous "egg" that appears first on the surface of the earth and contains the future fruit body, treats hypertension, pathologies of the digestive system, inflammatory lesions of the kidneys, liver and pancreas, autoimmune diseases, tumors (as benign, and malignant), cardiovascular diseases. Mucus veil helps heal wounds, skin cracks and pressure sores. Powder from dried mushrooms has a similar effect. A mass of raw veselok, ground with sugar, is taken for tuberculosis and bronchial asthma.

Veselki is considered an excellent preventive measure against colds. It is enough to keep a sheet of paper with a powder prepared from these mushrooms in the room, and the risk of infection of family members with seasonal infections will significantly decrease. The raw mass of veselka has a tonic and antibacterial effect: masks are made from it to heal the skin of the face and give it freshness.

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Morel

Tincture of morels has been used since ancient times by traditional healers to combat eye diseases. When scientists became interested in these mushrooms, the method received scientific confirmation. In morels, a complex of substances was found that not only strengthen the eye muscles, but also help to avoid lens opacity and the development of cataracts. Today, scientific work is underway to create drugs based on extracts from morels.

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Larch tinder

The components that make up this woody fungus contribute to the elimination of toxins and carcinogenic substances from the human body. Tinder fungus preparations are used to treat acute and chronic inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract, pathologies of the liver and pancreas, tuberculosis and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

The mushroom has another remarkable quality: it activates the liver and speeds up metabolism. Therefore, tinder fungus is often used by people trying to lose weight.

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Chaga

Chaga is a sterile form of one of the types of woody mushrooms that usually grows on birch trees. In folk medicine it is used as a raw material for the preparation of remedies for gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, pathologies of the nervous system and malignant neoplasms. Water infusions and extracts are made from chaga, since water-soluble pigments have healing properties, which create a specific color of the mushroom.

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Lines

The lines contain a substance that acts on the body like cortisone. Tincture of these mushrooms is used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, osteochondrosis. In addition, it is used as a rubbing agent for bronchitis and neuralgia of various origins.

Preparations of stitches cannot be taken orally: they contain a toxin that is close in action to the poison of a pale toadstool.

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Raincoat

Some varieties of raincoats contain calcium acid, which has high antibacterial and antitumor activity. On the basis of this substance, the drug calvacin has been created, which is successfully used in the treatment of cancer. In addition, raincoat preparations are used to stop bleeding and in the treatment of renal pathologies.

A substance has been isolated from dung mushrooms, akin to raincoats, which, in combination with alcohol, causes very unpleasant sensations in a person, similar to signs of poisoning. In folk medicine, raincoats are used to develop aversion to alcohol in patients.

Other cousins of raincoats, the Psilocybe mushroom, contain psilobicin, which has a psychotropic effect and is used to treat memory loss and mental disorders.

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Chanterelle

Cute orange mushrooms are not only a wonderful delicacy. Due to the presence in them of many useful substances, chanterelles are widely used in folk medicine. They are used to treat:

eye diseases. The composition of these mushrooms includes compounds of copper, zinc and other trace elements, which are necessary to maintain visual acuity and prevent ophthalmic pathologies;
avitaminosis. In terms of retinol content, chanterelles can successfully compete with orange-colored vegetables and fruits traditionally used to replenish vitamin A reserves in the body;
liver pathology (including hepatitis C). In chanterelles, trametonolinic acid and ergosterol are found to help cope with these kinds of problems. The healing agent is alcohol tincture, which is prepared from a tablespoon of chopped dried mushrooms and 200 ml of vodka. The tool is insisted for 10 days in a dark place;
helminthiasis. Chitinmannose, which is part of the pulp of mushrooms, has an anthelmintic effect and is completely safe for humans.

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Shiitake

Judging by the data found in ancient written sources, the shiitake mushroom has been used by oriental healers for more than seven centuries. The healing properties of plant raw materials are very well studied and recognized by official medicine not only in China and Japan, but also in many European countries. Shiitake preparations are used to treat:

malignant and benign neoplasms;
impotence;
hypertension;
ailments of the cardiovascular system;
diabetes mellitus;
viral and colds;
erosive lesions of the digestive tract;
fungal infections;
poorly healing wounds;
inflammatory processes of any origin.

For therapeutic use, fresh or dried mushrooms are infused with alcohol, cognac, vodka, sweet wine, olive or linseed oil. Sometimes water decoctions or infusions are also used. Shiitake is quite edible: in the countries of the East, it is regularly included on the menu in raw, fried, pickled or boiled form.

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Reishi

In China, this mushroom is considered one of the best means for prolonging life, maintaining physical and mental capacity for work, with practically no side effects. Reishi drugs treat diseases of the heart and blood vessels, allergies and mental ailments. In addition, the mushroom contains substances with antitumor activity.

It has been found that Shiitake and Reishi mushrooms are beneficial to use together, as they enhance the healing effect of each other.

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Chinese cordyceps

The fungus is found in the highlands of Tibet, contains a set of powerful antioxidants and is recognized as an immunostimulating, adaptogenic and antibacterial agent. It normalizes the functioning of the kidneys and liver, promotes the elimination of toxins from the body, optimizes the blood composition and microcirculation in tissues and organs, facilitates the process of oxygen saturation of the blood, and also has a rejuvenating effect, increases the general tone and potency in men.

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Fungotherapy should be approached very carefully. You must first undergo a full examination and get the advice of a qualified specialist. The fact is that some mushrooms contain toxic substances, while others are incompatible with some common pharmaceutical preparations. It is extremely important not only the competent selection of medicinal products, but also careful adherence to the formulation of the prepared drugs, the recommended dosage and timing of administration.

Mushroom treatment is a long process. It is believed that during the first 3-4 months, the body only gets used to the substances entering it. Improvement of the patient's condition should be expected no earlier than 9-12 months after the start of taking such drugs.

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