10 replies to this topic

[csrpj]

After some research on the matter, I'm planning on taking reishi and chaga together on a daily basis.

Definitely excited for higher health
But I'm not sure if I'm settling for a lower quality by ordering the originally planned, otherwise good quality, water-extracted chaga and reishi extract powder versus the alcohol and water-extracted liquid.

So for example is surthrival's hot-water and ethonol extracted chaga truely better than hyperion herb's hot-water-extracted chaga b/c of that difference, or are the claims just marketing-motivated?

[arska]

Hi,

The double extraction method is better. There are approx 100 differente triterpenes, including Ganoderic Acid, in fruiting body and mycella of Ganoderma Lucidum. On the other hand, the water method will extract beta-D- glucans . The triterpenes are ACE inhibiting and anti-allergic agents. The glucans are used to combat with cancer therapies.

[1kgcoffee]

Make your own extracts - waaaay cheaper.

[xEva]

I played with both extraction methods with naturally grown Ganoderma tzugae (practically identical to G. lucidum). The alcohol extracted fraction has has different effects from water extraction. It depends on what you're looking for. And you should not take it 'on a daily basis'. It's good to take it for a month-three at most in a stretch and then take a break.

[hav]

I take dual extraction reishi (G. lucidum) and cycle it weekly. I think chaga is suitable for daily dosing, however. One of the primary ingredients of chaga are polysacharides, which are water soluble. So if you go for an extract standardized to a high polysacharide content, like 50% or greater, water extraction would probably be optimal. But there's allot of other stuff in chaga that dual alcohol/water extraction can pick up. Here's a nice summary of some of the lesser components of chaga picked up by fuller spectrum extraction: Ron Teeguarden.

Ethanol and water extraction has been determined to extract virtually all of the major active constituents of Chaga. The ethanol (alcohol) extract is characterized by the predominant presence of lanostane-type triterpenoids and hispidin analogues. The water extract is characterized by polysaccharides and phenolic compounds.

Howard

Edited by hav, 04 January 2013 - 05:19 PM.

[incognitivito]

Make your own extracts - waaaay cheaper.

You do this? Have you posted anywhere about how you go about?

[Adaptogen]

So with the water method, is there no extraction of triterpenoids taking place at all or is it just a smaller amount? I would like to see a comparison of the two but I haven't been able to locate it.

I did read that ganoderic acid is fat soluble...would just chewing and eating them after they've been boiled have any effect?

[Adaptogen]

also, apart from the beta glucans and the triterpenes, it appears another major constituent of reishi is the Lingzhi-8 protein... how would I go about extracting this? I have seen no mention of it on extraction guides

[MiddleAged49]

Bump for this......Post 7 above was talking about whether terpenes can be extracted with water extraction.....does anyone know if this is possible? I've just ordered a load of Chaga capsules that have 2% triterpenes, which it says on the product info are 'betulinic acid derivatives', but it only talks about aqueous extraction and doesn't mention alcohol/dual extraction anywhere. So I'm wondering where the triterpenes come from. I've read some articles that say all triterpenes (and betulinic acid) are not water soluble, but then other articles say that aqueous extracts contain 'less' triterpenes than alcohol extracts.......can anyone clear this up? Many thanks.

[MiddleAged49]

Looked into this a bit further....regarding the Chaga supplement I mentioned above, the company have replied and said that the extraction method is, in fact, a dual water & alcohol extract, explaining the 2% terpene content. However, on their Reishi product page, they mention that triterpenes are soluble in water, but only very poorly, so it would appear there would be a negligible amount of triterpenes in a water-only extracted product.

I was interested in the terpene content as I'm allergic to cats, dust mites, bed mites, pollen, mold etc., and the terpenes are apparently effective for allergies. Already with Quercetin, Nettle Leaf, Astragalus and Tinospora Cordifolia/Guduchi, I've managed to reduce these allergies significantly and so am looking forward to adding Chaga and Reishi into the mix.

[MiddleAged49]

I was posting in another forum regarding my experience with Reishi and Chaga and came across my post here from a couple of months ago, so thought I'd update the thread with some results.

Just in a couple of months, Reishi and Chaga seem to have eliminated my allergies to dust, mold, cats, and bed mites. I'm in the UK so haven't had much exposure to pollen over the last couple of months, but recently had no problems with it abroad. In particular, I was exposed to lots of dust recently and had no reaction at all, whereas normally my throat would have closed up and my eyes and nose would have been streaming. I've also stopped having random sneezing fits - used to happen at any time of the day and could go on for ten minutes or so and keep my nose running for ages afterwards. I guess these were caused by bits of dust or mold just generally floating around.

Regarding cats, after a couple of weeks of taking Reishi and Chaga I still had a small reaction (sniffing/running nose), but only for half an hour or so, then it cleared up, which I assume may have been the triterpenes stabilizing the mast cells. Then after about a month or so I now seem to be completely immune to cats. I'm not about to go and buy any cats though.

The pills I've been taking are dual-extracted/hydroethanolic extracts that pull out both the water-soluble and alcohol-soluble components. Two per day each of Reishi and Chaga (and one Cordyceps every other day).

I stopped taking other supplements before starting Reishi and Chaga, so it's definitely these that have done the trick. The other supplements, e.g. Quercetin, seemed to only temporarily manage the problem - they did work, but there was still a manifestation of symptoms, whereas Reishi and Chaga seem to have fundamentally sorted the problem, for now anyway. Seems remarkable after years of suffering that these problems can be cured in short order by some mushrooms pills. Also, my blood pressure is now in the optimal range, whereas before it was elevated somewhat.

Does anyone else have any similar allergy success stories with Reishi/Chaga? Or any other tips/observations on how to get the best out of them?