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Armillaria mellea | Honey Mushroom
Armillaria mellea | Honey Mushroom
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Anticonvulsant | Anti-aging | Immune support
Shop wholesale Honey Mushroom with the Mushroom Dispensary.
Note: Can be purchased as powders or made up in blends to personal specifications, and supplied in capsules upon request.
All of our mushroom specimens and extracts are lab-tested, quality-controlled, and supplied by trusted growers on farms we have personally visited.
Summary
Summary
Honey Mushroom is a common fungus that produces fruiting bodies with a distinctive golden colour. Interestingly, it has been reported that the largest living organism in the world is a related species of honey fungus covering an area of 2400 acres in Oregon, USA. Its age is estimated at around 1900 to 8650 years ¹.
Armillaria mellea is essential for the growth of other plants, including the important Chinese herb Gastrodia elata (Tian Ma), which is used to treat conditions including vertigo, dizziness, headache, stroke, and convulsions and whose properties A. mellea mirrors. In fact, A. mellea is even considered the stronger of the two with only half the dosage needed for effective results than Tian Ma ²,³. Health benefits of Honey mushrooms include anti-aging, immune-modulating, and anti-vertigo activity ⁴,⁵ due to their high levels of polysaccharides.
Recommended Medicinal Uses
Recommended Medicinal Uses
• Several antibiotics, primarily sesquiterpene aryl esters, have been isolated from A. mellea and show strong action against gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus etc.), yeasts, and other fungi ⁸⁻¹⁰
• Neurological benefits — Pills made up of A. mellea mycelium are prescribed in China for treating various neurological conditions including Meniere’s Syndrome, vertigo, headache, insomnia, epilepsy, neurasthenia, and hypertension ²,³,¹¹⁻¹⁴
• Anti-convulsant and antiepileptic properties — A. mellea fermentation extract and aqueous gastrodia extracts have been shown to raise the seizure threshold of PTZ-induced seizures in mice ¹⁵
• Antidepressant — Armillaria mellea-derived sesquiterpene has been used to treat depressive disorder in mice models. It has also shown anti-depressive qualities when employed to alter levels of chemical transmitters, like dopamine, in mice brains ¹⁷. Though further studies are needed to fully understand this effect, it’s certainly a promising start.
• Armillaria mellea polysaccharides are effective against motion sickness and dizziness ¹⁶
Dose
Dose
We cannot advise of the dosage of this product, pease contact us for further information.
Contraindications
Contraindications
There is debate around whether or not honey mushrooms are, in fact, edible. That being said, many experts opt to classify it as ‘conditionally edible’ ¹⁷, while warning about its potential side effects. Many experts also recommend only consuming honey mushrooms that have been cooked or parboiled to remove any potentially toxic compounds, like melleolides which have cytotoxic properties. Potential noted side effects include digestive issues, including gastrointestinal upset, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting sensations, loose stools, or diarrhoea. Some, but not all Armillaria species are also contraindicated with alcohol, hence the recommendation to parboil before use. This method of preparation is also thought to limit the potential for digestive upset. Nonetheless, some people may still experience symptoms.
Research
Research
1. Coarse-scale population structure of pathogenic Armillaria species in a mixed-conifer forest in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon. BA Ferguson, TA Dreisbach, CG Parks, GM Filip, CL Schmitt. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2003;33(4):612-623.
2. Modernizing chinese medicine - the case of armillaria as gastrodia substitute.Dharmananda s. www.itmonline.org/arts/gastrodia.htm.
3. Tian ma, an ancient Chinese herb, offers new options for the treatment of epilepsy and other conditions. Ojemann LM, Nelson WL, Shin DS, Rowe AO, Buchanan RA. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2006;8(2):376-383.
4. The cultivation, bioactive components and pharmacological effects of Armillaria mellea. Gao LW, Li WY, Zhao YL and Wang JW. Afr J Biotech. 2009;8(25):7383-7390.
5. A polysaccharide from Armillaria mellea exhibits strong in vitro anticancer activity via apoptosis-involved mechanisms. Wu J, Zhou J, LangY,Yao L, Xu H, Shi H, Xu S. Int J Biol Macromol. 2012 Nov;51(4):663-7.
6. A novel N6-substituted adenosine isolated from mi huan jun (Armillaria mellea) as a cerebral-protecting compound. Watanabe N, Obuchi T, Tamai M, Araki H, Omura S, Yang JS, Yu D.Q, Liang X.T, Huan J.H. Planta Med. 1990;56(1):48-52.
7. Analysis of indole compounds in Armillaria mellea fruiting bodies. Muszyńska B, Maślanka A, Ekiert H, Sułkowska-Ziaja K. Acta Pol Pharm. 2011 Jan-Feb;68(1):93-7.
8. Armillaric acid, a new antibiotic produced by Armillaria mellea. Obuchi T, Kondoh H, Watanabe N, Tamai M, Omura S, Yang J.S, Liang X.T. Planta Med. 1990;56(2):198-201.
9. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of mycelia of 10 wild mushroom species. Kalyoncu F, Oskay M, Sağlam H, Erdoğan TF, Tamer A.U. J Med Food. 2010;13(2):415-94.
10. Antibacterial sesquiterpene aryl esters from Armillaria mellea. Donnelly DM, Abe F, Coveney D, Fukuda N, O’Reilly J, Polonsky J, Prange T J Nat Prod. 1985;48(1):10-6.
11. To use Armillaria fungus tablet to replace gastrodia tuber in treating 45 cases with syndrome of deficiency of yin and flourishing yang, Chinese Journal of Medicine, 1977;8:473-474.
12. Observation on curative effects of Armillaria mellea fungus tablet in treating 100 cases of neurasthenia and hypertension, etc. Zhou Linshen. Journal of New Medicine, 1978;10:13.
13. Curative effects of gastrodia tuber Armellaria fungus tablet in treating some diseases of the nervous system. Jiangsu Journal of TCM. 1980;1:35-37.
14. Antioxidant and Antiedema Properties of Solid-State Cultured HoneyMushroom, Armillaria mellea (Higher Basidiomycetes), Extracts and their Polysaccharide and Polyphenol Contents. Lai MN, Ng LT. Int J Med Mushr, 2013;15(1):1-8.
15. Pharmacological actions of gastrodia watery preparation and fermentation liquid of Armellaria mellea on nervous system. Chinese Journal of Medicine. 1977;8:470-472.
16. Study on the anti-vertigo function of polysaccharides of Gastrodia elata and polysaccharides of Armillaria mellea.Yu L. Shen YS, Miao HC. Chin J Information, TCM. 2006;13:29-36.
17. Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea). Mushrooms: Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods. Kiani, B.H., 2023.
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