The Benefits of Agaricus blazei Murrill

Dr. Group's Detox Foot Pads include the spectacular and practically magical mushroom Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM). In this article, we'll tell you all about its benefits.

What is Agaricus blazei Murrill?

Agaricus blazei Murrill is a medicinal mushroom, a popular food that has low calorie content and is mineral rich. It contains important fibers, vitamins and amino acids.¹

In Brazil, they call it Cogumelo do sol or medicinel and in Japan they call is Himematustake, Agarikusutake or Kawarihiratakes. In China, it is known as Ji Song Rong. All over the world people are using this wonderful mushroom for food and health.²

The mushroom originates in Piedade, a small village in the Atlantic forest near Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1960, a Japanese researcher named Takatoshi Furumoto discovered it and sent it to Japan in 1965 for study.

Benefits of Agaricus blazei Murrill Mushrooms

Did You Know? Our best evidence suggests that Agaricus blazei Murrill was first used as medicine by doctors in the Byzantine Empire from the fourth to the fifteenth century. ³

Chemical Composition

Mushrooms generally are composed of 90% water, 2-40% protein, 2-8% fat, 1-55% carbohydrates, 3-32% fiber, and 8-10% ash. ABM has a higher degree of protein and carbohydrates than most other mushrooms.

There are theories about how ABM reduces the spread of cancer. It appears to stimulate cells to inhibit tumor growth through presenting several different polysaccharides to cells.⁴

ABM's chemical structure also contributes directly to aiding the immune system, but we only partially understand the process. To put it roughly, ABM stimulates the presence of T-lymphocytes and virus killers like interferon.

Immune System Activation of Agaricus blazei Murrill

Numerous studies have shown that ABM can stimulate the immune system in animals and plants, for instance in rat bone-marrow.⁴ The presence of ABM encouraged bone marrow to increase its production of various immune system cells.

It has reduced the presence of herpes in horses⁵ by promoting the production of interferon, the body's natural anti-viral agent.

ABM has stimulated the bodies of mice to attack tumors.¹¹ In the study, researchers found that the presence of ABM dramatically increased the presence of activated macrophages, some of the body's attack agents. Hot-water extracts of ABM given to mice increased antigen-specific T-cells or T-lymphocytes.

What's incredible about ABM is that it appears to have the ability to stimulate not just one part of our immune system but various different aspects of the immune system simultaneously.

To put it in layman's terms, ABM activates your body's natural system of defense against disease in multiple ways.

Immune System Modulation of Agaricus blazei Murrill

Immune System Modulation is distinct from Immune System Activation. When a biological agent stimulates your immune system, it produces more of what it is already inclined to produce. But a biological agent modulates your immune system through a special part of its biochemical structure known as a Beta-Glucan. A Beta-Glucan presence in your body can produce immune system responses in parts of the body, tissues and parts of bone marrow specifically, that do not generally produce immune system responses.¹⁰

What's impressive about this is that it increases the power of your body's defense forces not only by increasing output at already active defense-body producing sites, but it brings more producing sites online to aid in your body's all-natural, organic fight against disease.

Anti-Viral Activity of Agaricus blazei Murrill

As we said above, interferon is a body's virus fighting substance. We know specifically that a number of viral activities can be significantly slowed by the use of ABM.⁶ In rats, scientists have seen ABM reduce the presence of various viruses in rats. They have high expectations that due to the biological similarities between humans and mice and rats that the effects translate into positive effects for humans.

Helps Reduce Blood Pressure

ABM sometimes contains a wonder amino acid that contains the neurotransmitter GABA. So it not only helps your protein structure but aids in stimulating your brain to be more effective. When these agents are administered to patients, they reduce blood pressure in a statistically significant way. This can help to reduce your blood pressure levels, improving your cardiovascular health (13).

Helps Reduce Cholesterol Levels

ABM has the ability to reduce cholesterol levels. A significant portion of ninety female volunteers who ingested proteins drawn out of ABM for eight weeks experienced a significant drop in their cholesterol levels and increased their cholesterol metabolism level.¹⁴

May Help Promote Weight-Loss

Another significant portion of these same women were able to significantly reduce their weight by ingesting proteins extracted from ABM.

Scientists believe that proteins contained in ABM are able to increase chemicals in people's bodies, which will help with weight-loss, cholesterol reduction and blood pressure reduction. This means that ABM mushrooms can, not only help you fight cancer and stimulate your immune system, but it may help you in more conventional ways as well.

The Wonder Mushroom?

We've reviewed a variety of health benefits of Agaricus blazei Murrill. It's really an impressive list. Remember that we covered many verifiable benefits. Traditional folk wisdom claims that they possess many other healthful properties. ABM mushrooms are included in Dr. Group's Detox Foot Pads formula because of their ability to promote natural health.

REFERENCES

1. Mattila P, Salo-Vaananen P, Konko K, Aro H, Jalava T. Basic composition and amino acid contents of mushrooms cultivated in Finlands. J Agric Food Chem ( 2002;) 50:: 6419-22.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
2. Mizuno TK. Agaricus blazei Murrill medicinal and dietary effects. Food Rev Int ( 1995;) 11:: 167-72.
3. Ramoutsaki IA, Ramoutsakis IA, Papadakis CE, Helidonis ES. Therapeutic methods for otolaryngological problems during the bzantine period. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol ( 2002;) 111:: 553-7.[ISI][Medline] (4)
4. Sorimachi K, Akimoto K, Inafuku K, Okubo A, Yamazaki S. Secretion of TNF- , IL-8 and nitric oxide by macrophages activated with Agaricus blazei Murril fractions in vitro. Cell Struct Funct ( 2001;) 26:: 103-8.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] (23)
5. Sorimachi K, Ikehara Y, Maezato G, Okubo A, Yamazaki S, Akimoto K, et al. Inhibitory effect of Agaricus blazei Murril fractions on cytophatic effect induced by Western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus on VERO cells in vitro. Biosci Biotech Biochem ( 2001;) 65:: 1645-7.[CrossRef][Medline]
6. Sorimachi K, Akimoto K, Niwa A, Yasumura Y. Delayed cytocidal effect of lignin derivatives on virally transformed rat fibroblasts. Cancer Detect Prev ( 1997;) 21:: 111-7.[ISI][Medline]
7. Shimizu S, Kitada H, Yokota H, Yamakawa J, Murayama T, Sugiyama K, et al. Activation of the alternative complement pathway by Agaricus blazei Murill. Phytomedicine ( 2002;) 9:: 536-45.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
8. Bellini MF, Angeli JPF, Matuo R, Terezan AP, Ribeiro LR, Mantovani MS. Antigenotoxicity of Agaricus blazei mushroom organic and aqueous extracts in chromosomal aberration and cytokinesis block micronucleus assays in CHO-K1 and HTC cells. Toxicology in vitro ( 2006;) 20:: 355-60.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
9. Brown GD, Gordon S. Immune recognition. A new receptor for ?-glucans. Nature ( 2001;) 413:: 36-7.[Medline]
10. Vetvicka V, Thornton BP, Ross GD. Soluble ?-glucan polysaccharide binding to the lectin site of neutrophil or natural killer cell complement receptor type 3 (CD11b/CD18) generates a primed state of the receptor capable of mediating cytotoxicity of iC3b-opsonized target cells. J Clin Invest ( 1996;) 98:: 50-61.[ISI][Medline]
11. Ebina T, Fujimiya Y. Antitumor effect of a peptide-glucan preparation extracted from Agaricus blazei in a double-grafted tumor system in mice. Biotherapy ( 1998;) 11:: 259-65.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
12. Kobayashi H, Yoshida R, Kanada Y, Fukuda Y, Yagyu T, Inagaki K, et al. Suppressing effect of daily oral supplementation of beta-glucan extracted from Agaricus blazei Murrill on spontaneous and peritoneal disseminated metastasis in mouse model. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol ( 2005;) 131:: 527-38.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
13. Toshiro W, Ayako K, Satoshi I, Kumar MT, Shiro N, Keisuke T. Antihypertensive effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid-enriched Agaricus blazei on mild hypertensive human subjects. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi ( 2003;) 50:: 167-73.
14. Kweon MH, Kwon ST, Kwon SH, Ma MS, Park YI. Lowering effects in plasma cholesterol and body weight by mycelial extracts of two mushrooms: Agaricus blazei and Lentinus edodes. Korean J Microbiol Biotechnol ( 2002;) 30:: 402-9.

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