In Japan and South Korea, "Phellinus igniarius" is regarded as a precious Chinese herbal medicine, which is widely used in anti-tumor. Combined with chemotherapy drugs, it can improve curative effect, enhance immunity and reduce side effects. In recent years, Japan and South Korea have conducted extensive and in-depth research on Phellinus igniarius, especially the discovery of its anticancer effect, which has become a new hot spot in the research of medicinal fungi.
The study of "Phellinus igniarius" in foreign countries is much earlier than that in China, but the specific and in-depth study of its medicinal effects also began in the 1990s. It was found that the water extract of Phellinus linteus could induce cancer cells to enter programmed cell death. In addition, "Phellinus igniarius" also has a strong inhibitory effect on cancer cell metastasis. The anticancer function of Phellinus igniarius was first discovered by Japanese scholars. 1968, Dr. Tetsuro Ikekawa from the National Cancer Center of Japan cooperated with the Chai Tian Laboratory of the University of Tokyo to conduct a cell test with the water extract from the wild fruiting body of Phellinus igniarius. The results showed that it had a direct inhibitory effect on S 180 tumor cells of mice. The inhibition rate of proliferation is as high as 96.7%, but it is non-toxic to normal cells. The study also showed that the anti-cancer substance was polysaccharide in Phellinus igniarius fruiting body.
There are few reports about the anti-tumor effect of Phellinus igniarius in China. Terpenoids, saponins and other chemical components contained in Phellinus igniarius can improve the exciting process of central nervous system, enhance anti-fatigue ability, excite myocardium, improve cardiac function, reduce myocardial oxygen consumption, increase stroke output, improve anti-hypoxia ability, regulate endocrine function, promote adrenaline secretion, and then raise blood sugar and prolong anti-fatigue time.
Korean scholars have conducted a series of in-depth studies on the medicinal efficacy of Phellinus igniarius. Naruse et al. and Chung et al. conducted anti-cancer experiments with artificially cultured Phellinus linteus mycelium extract in 1974 and19/year respectively, and confirmed that the mycelium extract also had obvious inhibitory effect on mouse sarcoma S 180, which provided an important scientific basis for industrial fermentation of Phellinus linteus to produce drugs with anti-tumor activity.
In Korea, the fruiting body of Phellinus igniarius has been sold as a panacea, and the price is as high as $2,300 per kilogram. A pharmaceutical company in South Korea took the lead in developing a new technology of Phellinus igniarius mycelium culture and artificially producing Phellinus igniarius active substances. Researchers fermented Phellinus igniarius PL2, PL5 and other mycelia in a special culture tank. Finally, the extract was processed into powder by freeze drying. Because of its remarkable anticancer effect, the price of Phellinus linteus extract dry powder in the Korean market is as high as more than 2000 US dollars per gram!
In Japan, "Phellinus igniarius" also began to enter the market. A Japanese pharmaceutical company "Tsumura Co., Ltd.", which specializes in crude drug processing, processed artificially cultivated Phellinus igniarius fruiting bodies into "ultrafine powder with broken cells". The price of "Phellinus igniarius" (ultramicro) powder capsules produced by Tsumura is as high as 30,000 yen (288 capsules) per bottle.
According to statistics, the total sales of various Phellinus linteus preparations in Japan and South Korea last year exceeded 654.38+0 billion yen. The United States imported Phellinus linteus preparation as a dietary supplement from Japan and sold it in China two years ago.
Although "Phellinus igniarius" began to be used as medicine in China in the Ming Dynasty, it has never formed a market. The main reason is that the medicinal value of Phellinus igniarius is not well understood, especially the latest research results on its anticancer function are still lacking. On the other hand, the growing shortage of wild Phellinus igniarius germplasm resources also limits the market development of Phellinus igniarius. Due to the large demand and high price of foreign businessmen, predatory exploitation in various domestic producing areas has been difficult to recover in the northeast and will soon be exhausted in the northwest. Artificial cultivation of Phellinus igniarius has become a top priority. Fortunately, the artificial cultivation of Phellinus igniarius has been successful abroad, but the research on artificial cultivation of Phellinus igniarius in China has just started.