Russian researchers believe that the common mushroom can "cure" the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. This mushroom grown on birch and other hardwood trees point to an elusive idea of curing HIV. Do they have any basis for it?

The "Legendary" Mushroom Cure

Credit: Wikipedia

Russian scientists from the Vector Institute near Novosibirsk believe that the Chaga mushroom can be a cure for the AIDS virus. Chaga mushroom is a small, unusual mushroom found in birch and other hardwood trees and contains betulinic acid which is toxic to cancer cells.

Chaga mushroom is very common in several regions around the world which looks like a porous wood that is black and hard. This mushroom is also been found to contain antiviral properties in addition to its toxicity level against cancer cells.

"Strains of these mushrooms demonstrated low toxicity and a strong antiviral effect against influenza, smallpox and HIV. We conducted research and for the first time we selected 82 strains of 33 types of fungi growing in South West Siberia," according to the scientists at Vector Institute, quoted by SiberianTimes.

Test results for chaga fungi strains which are well-known in Siberia showed the widest spectrum of antiviral activity. Since the 16th century, folks in Russia and Siberia collect mushrooms as an annual ritual for many families which they've been using as remedy and according to laboratory studies, the extract indicates possible future potential in cancer therapy as an antioxidant for immunotherapy and as an anti-inflammatory as well.

Chaga Mushrooms

Scientifically known as inonotus obliqus or commonly as Chaga mushroom is a parasite on trees and usually grows in regions with low temperature - Russia, Korea, Eastern and Northern Europe, northern parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Chaga mushrooms have been used in folk medicine in Eastern Europe and Russia which are currently not evident in medical science. Folk remedy use of these mushrooms for treatments of diseases like:

- Cancer

- Cardiovascular diseases

- Diabetes

Despite the claims of Russian scientists, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York said that the mushrooms have not undergone clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy for disease prevention or treatment for cancer.