Medicinal Mushrooms: A Plant-Powered Solution for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome?

All-Natural Defense

Over the past several years or so, calming an overactive inflammatory response and infectious respiratory illness have been hot topics — and for good reason. With severe acute respiratory syndrome a permanent feature year round now, many are seeking natural methods for prevention and treatment. Because of this, researchers have studied how medicinal mushrooms in particular can be helpful. And the results of their findings are promising!

If you have been searching for herbal remedies that can protect you from getting sick, as well as treating illness if you do pick up a bug, this post will explore what the science has to say about the role medicinal mushrooms play. Let’s get started.

Prevention of Contagious Illness

Here’s why medicinal mushroom extracts are one of your best options against contagious illness. First and foremost, reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), turkey tail (Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor), cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris), and lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) are antiviral and antibacterial superheroes that can help you to side step illness — even when everyone around you is falling ill.¹ Each is included in my Mushroom FOURtress Bundle.

Next, medicinal mushrooms boost and regulate the immune response, thereby defending against contagious disease. What’s more, reishi, turkey tail, lion’s mane, and cordyceps are potent adaptogens that help you to avoid the negative effects of stress, which further supports your immune system so that it can operate at peak efficiency.³ Importantly, they also cool inflammation, which brings us to our next point: cytokine storms and respiratory distress.

Calming the Inflammatory Storm

One of the more destructive aspects of severe acute respiratory syndrome is that it can trigger a cytokine storm where the immune system goes haywire and damages tissue, which can lead to multisystem organ failure. This is caused by the excessive production of cytokines — small proteins associated with the immune response. Some forms promote inflammation and are activated when an infection is present. Under normal circumstances, they are a key part of overcoming the threat. However, when too many are released in quick succession, it can turn deadly. Researchers believe this is what happened during the 1918 Spanish Flu — as well as our more recent pandemic.

There are a number of reasons why a cytokine storm can be triggered beyond severe acute respiratory syndrome, including:²

• Yersinia pestis
• Bird flu
• Dengue fever
• Graft-versus-host disease
• Sepsis
• Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
• Autoimmune conditions, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis

How can medicinal mushrooms help? A 2021 study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology has found that compounds in reishi and lion’s mane mushrooms not only treat viral and bacterial infections, but also help to regulate the immune system to prevent overreaction. The extracts also cooled inflammation to prevent cytokine storms.¹ The research team notes:

“..from the literature it seems possible that the related medicinal … mushrooms would have merit as prophylactic or therapeutic add‐on remedies in [a severe acute respiratory syndrome] infection, especially as countermeasures against a pneumococcal superinfection, even when caused by multi‐resistant bacteria, as well as for the immune overreaction and damaging inflammation that occurs with [a severe acute respiratory syndrome] attack.”

Likewise, research published in Mushrooms with Therapeutic Potentials found that medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, lion’s mane, cordyceps, and turkey tail “… contain one or more bioactive compounds with evidence of therapeutic activity that can aid disease treatment or prevention [of severe acute respiratory syndrome].³

For an added layer of support, please also see my Bronchial Blend and Eastern Blend in the apothecary.

For Best Results, Quality Matters

In light of these findings, it is important to note that not all medicinal mushroom products or extracts are the same. Medicinal mushrooms require dual-extraction with both hot water and alcohol to access the full beneficial compounds, such as β-glucans for antibiotic and antiviral properties and immune regulation; anti-inflammatory triterpenoids that contain a high level of important antioxidants; ergosterol, which has anti-tumor and antioxidant properties; and naturally occurring statins for cardiovascular health.

Moreover, it is crucial to source products that only utilize the fruiting body (stem, cap, and gills) — not the lower quality mycelium, which is the root system below ground. The fruiting body also contains the majority of nutrients, such as vitamins A, B, C, and D, along with zinc.

In my apothecary, our tinctures are considered the gold standard of medicinal extracts not only because we use the fruiting body exclusively and dual-extraction, but also employ the spagyric method.

With this unique process, the spent herb is processed with pressure and heat to produce a mineral-rich ash that’s derived from the entire plant, lichen, or mushroom. The medicinal properties of the herb are fully accessed from the ash and herbal extraction, which creates a tincture that embodies a complete spectrum of intracellular minerals and plant cell salts. Tinctures that use the spagyric method are highly energized and concentrate the full medicinal properties, nutrients, and enzymes of the botanical.

When you purchase herbal medicines from my apothecary, you know that you are receiving the most powerful and effective extracts on the market. But don’t take my word for it. Visit the apothecary today and discover the healing power of our concentrated, plant-powered remedies for yourself!

Nicole Apelian

Nicole’s Apothecary Products in this Post

References

1. Hetland, G., Johnson, E., Bernardshaw, S. V., & Grinde, B. (2021). Can medicinal mushrooms have prophylactic or therapeutic effect against COVID-19 and its pneumonic superinfection and complicating inflammation?. Scandinavian journal of immunology, 93(1), e12937. https://doi.org/10.1111/sji.12937
2. “Cytokine Storm and COVID-19: How Are They Connected?” Daniel Yetman, medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH, Healthline, September 23, 2021.
3. Parise, R. et al. (2023). Therapeutic and Prophylactic Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms in COVID-19. In: Agrawal, D.C., Dhanasekaran, M. (eds) Mushrooms with Therapeutic Potentials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9550-7_3