ok, i emailed fungi perfecti specifically about their chaga product not being grown on birch and hence lacking the active ingredients which makes it medicinal, and here is their response;
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us.
Our Chaga is made from mycelium, not the conk (or fruiting body, as some call it). Cultivated Chaga lacks betulinic acid (because it's not grown on birch), but it will have B-glucans, arabinoxylans, glycoproteins, ergosterols & triterpenes.
This is mainly rubbish. Mycelium is high in polysaccharides (mainly chitin and other non-bioactive polysaccharides) and low in beta-glucan. Tests have shown this. Triterpenes are below the level of detection in mycelium.
Fungi do NOT contain arabinoxylans; this is only found in plants (like grains, it is a component of gluten). Glycoproteins, ergosterol : without any objective test results to back this up it is just marketing talk.
At first, betulin was identified as a primary constituent augmenting immune response. More recently, non-betulin compounds from the mycelium called lanosterols are now known to be responsible for its powerful antioxidant and immune enhancing properties. Harvesting Chaga out from the wild isn't a sustainable practice, so we happily grow ours in the lab, holding strong to our moral code and sustainable ecological practices.
Betulin / betulinic acid was never considered a primary constituent augmenting whatever immune response - it was always beta-glucans. Google and find confirmation... Betulin and betulinic acid is almost not bioavailable and has a solubility of almost zero, making it quite useless as a compound in a supplement that is supposed to be taken orally. Research shows that even when injected it fails to show effects. It does show promise in the lab though, so science is working on a way to improve the bioavailability.
Lanosterol and other sterols are only a fraction of what they should be in cultured mycelium - see the table below for a comparison between wild and cultured Chaga.
There is abundant research on the beneficial properties of mycelium. I encourage you to use Google Scholar and or PubMed.gov if you're interested in researching mycelium. http://mushroomreferences.com/ is another excellent online resource with a wealth of information on mycelium! If you have a focused interest a certain mushroom; use of the Latin binomial will greatly aid in your search parameters. For example, Chaga is Inonotus obliquus, Turkey Tail is Trametes versicolor, etc.
Mushrooms are a product of where and how they are grown, so we feel it is important to look for certain things when choosing a mushroom supplement.
1) Are they certified organic?- This ensures product purity and protection for the environment.
Marketing talk. 'Organic' means, simply put, that specific pesticides were not used. Since mushrooms accumulate heavy metals no matter where and how they are grown, only lab testing can guarantee purity. Stamets says he is testing, but does not share these tests with his customers.
2) Are they USA grown?- This ensures you are supporting sustainable growers in the USA.
As far as I am concerned - bullshit. The only ones cultivating Chaga in the US are Stamets and Aloha Medicinals AFAIK. Neither of those have produced products that score well when tested.
Patriotism used as leverage to sell more stuff is an old trick. Used in particular by sellers who have little else to use, sellers like Aloha, Stamets and Natural News. None of these have hard objective facts to share. I am from a country with a history that clearly shows how patriotism can be abused by politicians and business-men to make voters / customers do what you want them to do.... such claims are best ignored IMO.
3) Do they have Mycelium for optimal health support- Mycelium is the immune system of the mushroom, and the most powerful part of the organism for supporting health.
This made my jaw drop. Must be one of the most idiotic claims ever. Unless you also think that the apple tree is the immune system of the apple... All research shows the fruiting body has in general the biggest variety and quantity of bioactive constituents.
4) Do they have scientific studies demonstrating efficacy?- Can they demonstrate the value of their products for your health?
5) Are they Non-GMO Project verified?- This preserves the wisdom of nature to benefit health and wellness
"preserves the wisdom of nature to benefit health and wellness " - I don't even know what that means... In the US however where GMO grains etc do not have to be labeled as such in many cases mushrooms might be grown on / in them, and therefore cannot be trusted either. I never heard of a genetically modified mushroom so far, but who knows...
6) Heat-treated for safety and bioavailability?- To actually absorb the nutrients of mushrooms, they need to be heat treated.
Heat treated is a marketing term. Extraction is the proper term, but Stamets cannot afford to build an extraction facility in the US, nor can anybody else - it is too expensive. His products are not extracted so he can't say 'extracted'. Independent research showed that Stamets 'heat-treated' products are very low in beta-glucans ( 1 - 3 %) and very high in alpha-glucans (meaning: starch).
7) Do they have independent 3rd Party Quality Testing?- This verifies the identity, screens for pesticides, heavy metals and other contaminants to ensure purity.
Incomplete recommendation. He leaves out 'tested for active ingredients'.
Stamets does not share the test results of his products with his customers. Actually most sellers, including popular ones such as Nootropic Depot do not share actual test results - they publish a 'spec sheet' and call that a 'Certificate of Analysis'. So far only Four Sigmatic and Oriveda sent me actual independent lab tests when asked, (signed by an actual lab technician and published by an FDA-registered lab) showing the safety and quality of their products. That other sellers don't share actual test results (such as beta-glucan test results) is odd. You have to take their word for it.
Our products are grown at the base of the Olympic Rainforest with the highest quality laboratory and growing environments. We purity test batch to batch. We grow and process every single mushroom in our product. There is no other mushroom supplement company that has such complete control over their raw materials.
When we source our mushrooms from the Olympic Rainforest, Paul and Dusty leave the habitat and the original mushroom intact and undisturbed. Only a small sample is required and taken for growing in our laboratories at the farm. Our Host Defense methods protect the native habitat, and our vast culture library of rare and endangered mushroom species has been called a national treasure.
Host defense is a 100% organic food producer and processor. We are the best-documented and longest-certified organic mushroom company in the US. Our products have been chosen and utilized in scientific studies conducted by the NIH.
Marketing talk. They were also dropped in favour of Japanese and Chinese products later.
You are welcome to check out our Host Defense website, which has more in-depth information on the products, supporting research, and our company. You can make purchases and find more information on our Fungi Perfecti web page.
We hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions. We hope you have a lovely day.
what do you guys think of this response? makes sense, good enough? personally i doubt chaga's mycelium is as good as the reliable medicinal body of chaga, what do you think??
