Directions for Use

For therapeutic treatment we recommend taking 1 drop/kg of body weight daily, divided into 3 doses.

 For health maintenance, take 6 drops three times a day.

 Warning: Keep out of reach of children. Vitamins and minerals are supplementary to and not a replacement for a balanced diet. Consult a health care professional if symptoms persist.

Ingredients

6 drops / 1 Serving Contains:

• Maitake Mushroom (Grifola frondosa) Extract 22mg (PD-Fraction®, standardized to contain 30% active proteoglycan)

• Water

• Vegetable Glycerine

The product does not contain sugar, yeast, corn, salt, wheat, soy, artificial colour, dairy foods, mould, preservatives or synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is intended for your general information. It is not a substitute for medical advice from a health care professional and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your doctor or other qualified health care professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Always read the label of any supplements or natural health products you purchase and use only as directed. While we take care in providing you with information about the products we sell, we are reliant on our supplier partners for the accuracy of this information. Vitamins and minerals are supplementary to and not a replacement for a balanced diet. Consult a health care professional if symptoms persist. Customer reviews reflect individual experiences and may not be typical. Individual results may vary.

Maitake Mushroom Information

Maitake is a giant mushroom that often reaches 20 inches in diameter and can weigh up to 100 pounds. Such unique characteristics and potential health benefits are why it is often considered “the king of mushrooms”. β-glucans are one of the most abundant forms of polysaccharides found inside the cell wall of bacteria and fungus. All β-glucans are glucose polymers linked together by a 1 3 linear →β-glycosidic chain core and they differ from each other by their length and branching structures.

The branches derived from the glycosidic chain core are highly variable and the 2 main groups of branching are 1 4 or 1 6 glycosidic chains. These branching assignment→→s appear to be species specific. For example, β-glucans of fungus have 1 6 side branches whereas those of bacteria have 1 4 side branches. The alignments of branching follow a particular rati→→o and branches can arise from branches (secondary branches). The immune functions of β-glucans are apparently dependent on their conformational complexity. It has been suggested that higher degree of structural complexity is associated with more potent immunmodulatory and anti-cancer effects.

Unlike other medicinal mushrooms, the β-glucan obtained from Maitake mushroom has a unique and complex chemical structure: D-fraction or PDF is the protein-bound polysaccharide or proteoglycan, consisting of β-glucan (either β-1,6-linked glucan with β-1,3, branches or β-1,3-linked glucan branched with β-1,6 glucosides. PDF is not a pure form of β-glucan that is yet a core constituent but is a “proteoglucan” having both β-glucan (major) and protein (minor) portions.

It is generally theorized that the greater the degree of branches, the more chance to reach each immune cell activation, and thus the greater the potency. D-Fraction as an Immune Booster Maitake D-Fraction has been shown to have an anti-tumour effect on tumour-bearing mice, with enhanced cytotoxic activity of macrophages and elevated production of interleukin-1 leading to the activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). These findings are highly suggestive that D-fraction acts not only via direct activation of various immune effectors (macrophages, CTLs, natural-killer [NK] cells, etc.) targeting tumour cells but also via potentiating the activity/production of various lymphokines.

Thus, the D-Fraction appears to have a potent immunostimulatory activity, which may account primarily for its anti-tumour effect on cancer cells. D-Fraction combined with regular Cancer treatment Studies show that D-fraction when administered in conjunction with mitomycin C (MMC) that is used in chemotherapy could inhibit tumour growth to nearly 98%. Such an enhanced antitumor effect of D-fraction and MMC could be explained by the stimulated immune response caused by D-fraction and the direct attack of MMC on tumour cells. The clinical status of patients with breast, prostate, lung, and liver cancers was improved significantly with D-fraction, while the fraction was less effective on subjects with bone and stomach cancers or with leukemia. D-Fraction as an Apoptosis Inducer PC-3 cells are the most aggressive and metastatic prostate cancer cells, in vitro when PC-3 cells were treated with D-fraction at concentration of 480μ/mL, almost complete cell death (>95 %) was observed in 24 hours, accompanied by “cell blebbing” (vesicle formation) and considerable damage in the plasma membrane assessed by lipid peroxidation assay.

These cellular alterations are indicative of oxidative stress (generation of oxygen free radicals), which appears subsequently to cause discrete DNA fragmentation in cancer cells. Histologic (in situ hybridization) and molecular analyses then confirmed that cell death induced by D-fraction had resulted most likely from apoptosis, suggesting that the fraction is a potential apoptosis inducer. This is a major goal in improving the efficacy of the current cancer treatments while minimizing their side-effects Chemosensitizing Effect Some studies suggest that D-fraction may also have a chemosensitizing activity on certain anticancer drugs, helping to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. It is important to note that many side effects of chemotherapy on all patients with all types of cancer were ameliorated when D-fraction was given with conventional treatment. Adverse symptoms, such as nausea, hair loss, and leukopenia, were alleviated in average 90% of the patients, say studies.

Studies suggest that both maitake preparations are capable of preventing tumour metastasis, presumably by necrotizing tumour cells present in the blood and/or lymphatic vessels via the activated immune-component cells.

Effects of D-fraction in HIV/AIDS and Kaposi’s sarcoma Both the National Institute of Health in Japan (Tokyo) and the U.S. National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, Maryland) have confirmed that maitake D-fraction was able to prevent HIV-mediated destruction of T-helper lymphocytes up to 97% in vitro.

These findings suggest that D-fraction may even help to prevent or slow down AIDS. Several physicians who used D-fraction for the treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS have also reported that oral administration of D-fraction had significantly improved the clinical conditions of patients with Kaposi’s sarcoma (even those who were undergoing radiotherapy) and other AIDS-related symptoms.

A clinical report demonstrated the effective treatment of Kaposi’s sarcoma with D-fraction. Approximately 40% of patients with advanced HIV/AIDS are more likely to develop this malignant skin cancer but the effective treatment is yet undefined.

The author of the report found that the skin lesions would be usually phased out in several days following topical application of a mixture of D-fraction and dimethysulfoxide (limited to 4 times per day). Blood analysis of one of the patients treated with this protocol also indicated that his HIV-positive status had become negative after taking D-fraction orally for 6 weeks, while the CD4/CD8 ratio increased from 0.8 to 1.2. These presentations are encouraging for patients with terminal illness.

Toxicity After tests where maitake D-fraction liquid form and tablets (whole crude powder) form were used, the researchers concluded that both maitake D-fraction liquid and tablets are safe with no toxicity. Such safety is supported further by FDA, who has exempted D-fraction from a phase I study of toxicology.

Vitamin C taken in small amounts along with mushroom supplements will facilitate absorption of polysaccharides and enhance their effectiveness. Such increased absorption renders polysaccharides more accessible to immune cells, including macrophages and NK cells.