Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis) As a Potential Smallpox Remedy - NPR Interview with Paul Stamets
Interviewed on NPR, world leading medicinal mushroom specialist Paul Stamets relates how he came to discover the healing properties of agarikon, an increasingly rare wood conk that has all but vanished from Europe and now grows almost exclusively in the old growth rainforests of the northwestern United States.
Stamets knew that fungi (mushrooms) were more closely related to humans than to plants and therefore susceptible to many of the same pathogens (bacteria, molds, viruses). And yet the perennial agarikon mushroom managed to remain disease free in the dripping wet rainforests for up to 50 years without decaying from rot, mold, or bacteria. So therefore it followed, he figured, that it must possess a powerful immune system full of antibiotic compounds that might benefit people.
To find agarikon in the wild, look for something reminiscent of a beehive on the ancient tree trunks of an old-growth forest. (You may view a picture of agarikon through the agarikon-link on this page.) Please keep in mind that agarikon is a rare and threatened species. Do not harvest it unless there's a very good reason for doing so. But by all means, bring out your digital camera.
It should be noted that the agarikon Paul Stamets uses is not harvested in the wild. He grows his own, and uses it for the extract he produces. A sample of that extract was submitted to the Defense Department, to be tested at a top security laboratory in Fort Dietrich, Maryland. The Defense Department's BIO Shield Program at that location searches for cures to biological warfare agents such as smallpox and anthrax.
Reportedly, tens of thousands of natural as well as manmade remedies are tested through the BIO Shield Program. According to drug discovery supervisor John Seacrest, Paul Stamets agarikon extract scored one of the rare hits against viruses related to smallpox. In other words, it effectively inhibited smallpox related viruses under lab conditions.
Following this discovery, Paul Stamets now has a patent pending on a mushroom-derived anti-viral drug. One of his financial backers, Boston-based investor John Norris, bases his support in part on the fact that, as he says, not everyone is able or willing to be vaccinated against diseases such as smallpox.
As a former second at the FDA, John Norris should know enough about the field of medicine. And obviously, his belief in Paul Stamets agarikon extract is strong enough to put his money where his mouth is. His goal is that they may someday sell this agarikon extract for the defense stock-piles of NATO armies, with doses numbering in the hundreds of millions.
That may still be a few years into the future, though. Paul Stamets new mushroom related anti-viral medicine first has to stand up to exhaustive testing, and then eventually be approved for release by the FDA.
Note: This article is intended for informational purposes only. Never use any herb or mushroom medicinally except as advised by a licensed medical practitioner.
Reference: Banse, T., NPR Morning Edition, Smallpox Defense May Be Found in Mushrooms, August 4, 2005.
Stamets knew that fungi (mushrooms) were more closely related to humans than to plants and therefore susceptible to many of the same pathogens (bacteria, molds, viruses). And yet the perennial agarikon mushroom managed to remain disease free in the dripping wet rainforests for up to 50 years without decaying from rot, mold, or bacteria. So therefore it followed, he figured, that it must possess a powerful immune system full of antibiotic compounds that might benefit people.
To find agarikon in the wild, look for something reminiscent of a beehive on the ancient tree trunks of an old-growth forest. (You may view a picture of agarikon through the agarikon-link on this page.) Please keep in mind that agarikon is a rare and threatened species. Do not harvest it unless there's a very good reason for doing so. But by all means, bring out your digital camera.
It should be noted that the agarikon Paul Stamets uses is not harvested in the wild. He grows his own, and uses it for the extract he produces. A sample of that extract was submitted to the Defense Department, to be tested at a top security laboratory in Fort Dietrich, Maryland. The Defense Department's BIO Shield Program at that location searches for cures to biological warfare agents such as smallpox and anthrax.
Reportedly, tens of thousands of natural as well as manmade remedies are tested through the BIO Shield Program. According to drug discovery supervisor John Seacrest, Paul Stamets agarikon extract scored one of the rare hits against viruses related to smallpox. In other words, it effectively inhibited smallpox related viruses under lab conditions.
Following this discovery, Paul Stamets now has a patent pending on a mushroom-derived anti-viral drug. One of his financial backers, Boston-based investor John Norris, bases his support in part on the fact that, as he says, not everyone is able or willing to be vaccinated against diseases such as smallpox.
As a former second at the FDA, John Norris should know enough about the field of medicine. And obviously, his belief in Paul Stamets agarikon extract is strong enough to put his money where his mouth is. His goal is that they may someday sell this agarikon extract for the defense stock-piles of NATO armies, with doses numbering in the hundreds of millions.
That may still be a few years into the future, though. Paul Stamets new mushroom related anti-viral medicine first has to stand up to exhaustive testing, and then eventually be approved for release by the FDA.
Note: This article is intended for informational purposes only. Never use any herb or mushroom medicinally except as advised by a licensed medical practitioner.
Reference: Banse, T., NPR Morning Edition, Smallpox Defense May Be Found in Mushrooms, August 4, 2005.
About the Author:
About author: Dr. Rafael has worked with natural health products since 1996, specializing in mycomedicinals. Click Agarikon Mushroom for agarikon-photo, mushroom products, free mushroom articles, or to request unique copies of medicinal mushroom articles for your own web-site or magazine / ezine. Click Fomitopsis medicinal for scientific references about agarikon.
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