Cancer
Green tea, Lingzhi mushroom extract combo slows sarcomas
By Sue Mueller
May 19, 2008 - 5:35:09 PM

MONDAY May 19, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A combination of the active ingredients from reishi or Lingzhi mushrooms and green tea may be used to treat sarcoma, according to two Chinese studies by researchers at the Pharmanex BJ Clinical Pharmacology Center in Beijing.

The studies slowed the combo slowed the growth of tumors and extended survival time of mice with sarcomas.

A sarcoma is a cancer of the connective or supportive tissue (bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels) and soft tissue, according to wikipedia.  

Lingzhi mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of cancers and ingredients from green tea have been known to promote apoptosis and kill cancer cells.

In one study, researchers tested in mice with sarcoma cells injected two products, one called ReishiMax containing high concentrations of active ingredients from Lingzhi mushroom including polysaccharides and triterpenes or a combination of ReishiMax and Tegreen with 98 to 99 percent made of green tea polyphenols.

Mice that received the combo treatment lived longer than those without receiving the combo, the researchers found.

In the second study, ReishiMax and a combination of ReishiMax and Tegreen were given for 14 days prior to injection of sarcoma cells and two treatments continued after injection for another 14 days.

Mice receiving the combo developed fewer tumors than those receiving only ReishiMax.  Mice treated with the combo developed 45 percent fewer tumors than mice that received no treatment.