Chaga mushrooms could be used to create new antiretroviral drugs, the Russian scientists say
Could be effective against ‘flu, HIV and smallpox
They contain betulinic acid which has antiretroviral and anti-inflammatory properties
Some people believe the mushrooms also have cancer-combating properties
Mushrooms grown in Siberia could be used to create a new treatment for AIDS, Russian scientists claim.
The researchers say that Chaga mushrooms growing on birch trees are a ‘promising’ subject for further research.
Scientists at the Vector Institute, near Novosibirsk, say that they have three different mushrooms all of which could be used in antiretroviral medicines but that the Chaga mushroom is showing the most promise.
Chaga mushrooms (pictured) grown in Siberia could be used to create a new treatment for AIDS, Russian scientists claim
‘Strains of these mushrooms demonstrated low toxicity and a strong antiviral effect,’ a statement from the Institute said.
They could be effective against influenza, smallpox and HIV, The Siberian Times reports.
The mushrooms are thought to contain betulinic acid which has antiretroviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
The mushrooms have been used by traditional healers in Siberia for centuries.
Some people believe they also have cancer-combating properties.
Chaga mushrooms are referenced as a treatment for cancer in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Cancer Ward which was published in 1967.
The mushrooms could be effective against influenza, smallpox and HIV (pictured)
However, experts at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York said that no clinical trials have been carried out to establish whether Chaga is a safe or effective method of disease prevention.
The Vector Institute – also known as the State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR – is one of just two official repositories for the now-eradicated smallpox virus.
In Soviet times, it was a centre for biological warfare research.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2426614/Ancient-fokelore-remedy-using-Siberian-mushrooms-used-treat-AIDS-scientists-claim.html#ixzz2fVyT7Z00
