Shiitake Double Extract

Most people have eaten shiitake, which is exactly why our naturopaths ask these questions in store before you take the concentrated version home.

A good fit if

• Immune support is your reason for buying, and you want one species
• You're comfortable with evidence that comes from reviews of fungal beta-glucans in general
• You want Lentinula edodes and a beta-glucan figure on the label
• You already eat shiitake without any reaction

Check with us first if

• You're having, or have had, cancer treatment. A review of case reports in people with cancer found mushroom products were behind most of the severe reactions, which were mostly allergic. Talk to your treating team first.
• You take a medicine that affects your immune system, including after a transplant. We haven't found a human interaction study for shiitake, so we won't guess either way.
• You take warfarin or another blood thinner. Australia's required warfarin warning applies to maitake, not shiitake, and we won't stretch it. Bring the pack in anyway.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. No trial of these mushrooms included pregnant or breastfeeding women, and Australia's permitted ingredients list sets no warning either way. That isn't the same as evidence that it's safe.
• It's for a child. There's no safety guidance for shiitake in children.

• Hot-water extract. Best known for: The water-soluble beta-glucan part of the mushroom. Absorption: Ratios like 8:1 concentrate the fibre; this is the type used in beta-glucan trials. Typical use: The usual pick if immune support is your reason.
• Double extract (water plus alcohol). Best known for: A hot-water extract with an alcohol step added. Absorption: We have nothing shiitake-specific on what the alcohol step adds. Typical use: Often sold as a liquid; check the beta-glucan figure, not the ratio.
• Whole mushroom, dried or fresh. Best known for: Cooking, and the same beta-glucan fibre in food form. Absorption: Not concentrated, so you get whatever the mushroom contained. Typical use: Food rather than a supplement.
• Cultured mycelia extract (AHCC). Best known for: A proprietary preparation grown from shiitake mycelium. Absorption: AHCC isn't a Schedule 1 name, so it's sold here as a food. Typical use: A separate product with its own page, not a shiitake extract.

Reference values. There's no Nutrient Reference Value for shiitake or for beta-glucan. It's a fungus, not an essential nutrient, so the NHMRC doesn't set one.

Typical supplemental range. Fungal beta-glucan supplements usually give around 100 to 500 mg a day. In the 34-trial review, doses ranged from 2.5 mg to 1,000 mg a day for up to 6.5 months. The one trial of shiitake alone used far more: 10.4 g a day of a mixture giving 3.5 g of beta-glucan, for 8 weeks. These figures are for context, not a recommendation, so read the label and follow its directions.

Upper level. None is set. Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) has no daily dose cap for Lentinula edodes. That doesn't mean there's no limit, only that the rules don't set one.

Worth knowing. If you're comparing two products, compare the beta-glucan percentage rather than the extract ratio or the milligrams, because it tells you more. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Shiitake, fresh or dried: A culinary source of (1,3)(1,6)-beta-D-glucan fibre
• Oyster and enoki mushrooms: culinary sources of the same fungal beta-glucan fibre

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• Flagellate erythema. Whip-like straight or curved streaks and raised patches, mainly on the trunk, have been reported after eating mushrooms, most often shiitake. It clears up on its own.
• A known mushroom or mould allergy. In a review of 92 case reports in cancer patients, allergy was the main cause of the severe cases, and the products involved were mostly mushroom products.
• Cancer. Talk to your treating team first; we make no cancer claim for shiitake.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. No trial in this family included pregnant or breastfeeding women, and Schedule 1 sets no pregnancy warning for Lentinula edodes.
• Children. No safety position has been established for shiitake in children.
• Immunosuppressants, transplant medicines and blood thinners (anticoagulants). There's no human interaction study, so nothing is claimed either way.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.