Updated
Shiitake
The second most cultivated edible mushroom in the world. Its purified glucan lentinan is a licensed injectable in Japan; the food and the drug are not the same thing.
Repeated trials
Where it stands: 16 registered trials in people, two of which have reported; 35 randomised trials published since 1983.
What it is taken for
One tile per use. The line under each is how far the evidence for that use actually got, counted rather than argued.
What it has been tried for, and how far that has got
One row per use. The label is counted rather than argued — it is set by how many randomised trials and posted results exist for that use, and nothing else. How that is worked out.
| Use | How far it has got | Trials | With a result | Randomised, published | Reviews | Commonly taken for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viral infection | Repeated trials | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Cancer, supportive and adjuvant | Repeated trials | 3 | 0 | 15 | 12 | yes |
| Cholesterol and lipids | Repeated trials | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | yes |
| Nutrition | Repeated trials | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Immune function | A first trial | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | yes |
| Liver | A first trial | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Inflammation | A first trial | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Gut and microbiome | A first trial | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Lungs and breathing | Being tested now | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Mouth and gums | Laboratory work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | yes |
Commonly taken for mouth and gums. The work there is still laboratory and animal work — often a great deal of it — and the step into a trial in people has not been taken yet.
The doses the protocols actually specify
Taken verbatim from the intervention description each trial filed. These are not recommendations and they are not comparable to each other: some are a whole-mushroom powder, some a purified fraction.
Every registered study that names it
From ClinicalTrials.gov, filtered to studies that name Lentinula edodes or a synonym in the title, summary or intervention. Studies that have posted results come first.
| Register | Study | Condition | People | Status | Result posted | Dose in the protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT04186780 | Effects of Lentinula Edodes Bars on Dyslipidemia and Oxidative Stress in Cholesterol Individuals: Randomized S | Dyslipidemias | 68 | Completed | yes | — |
| NCT03782974 | A Follow-up Trial of Proglucamune® in the Treatment of Protective Qi Deficiency, a TCM Condition one ingredient in a multi-herb preparation | Protective Qi Insufficiency (a Condition Term From TCM) | 207 | Completed | yes | 2 tablet, 100 mg |
| NCT03829228 | An Evaluation of Proglucamune in the Treatment of Protective Qi Insufficiency | Protective Qi Insufficiency | 30 | Completed | yes | 2 tablet, 100 mg |
| NCT06338046 | SMosE Safety and Efficacy Evaluation as a Skin Adaptogen one ingredient in a multi-herb preparation | Sebum Production, Acne Scars | 40 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT03550287 | Evaluation of the Effect of a Shiitake Extract on Lipid Profile in Subjects With Moderate Hyperlipidemia | Hypercholesterolemia, Hyperlipidemias | 57 | Completed | — | 10 g/day |
| NCT05763199 | Standardized Extract of Cultured Lentinula Edodes Mycelia (AHCC®) in Ovarian Cancer Patients on Adjuvant Chemo | Ovarian Epithelial Carcinoma, Fallopian Tube Carcinoma | 20 | Active not recruiting | — | — |
| NCT04633330 | Evaluation of AHCC® for the Clearance of High Risk-HPV Infections in Chinese Female | High Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection, Low Grade Squamous | 60 | Unknown | — | — |
| NCT05130905 | RiteStart Personal Nutritional Dietary Study one ingredient in a multi-herb preparation | Healthy Nutrition | 20 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT04821258 | Effect of the Nutraceutical "MICODIGEST 2.0" on the Complications After Surgery for Colorectal Cancer | Colorectal Cancer, Surgery--Complications | 48 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT05917015 | A Clinical Study to Determine if Beta Glucan Reduces the Incidence, Duration or Severity of URTIs Among Skiers | Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, Mental Stress | 45 | Unknown | — | 2 tablet, 100 mg |
| NCT07479394 | Impact of AHCC® Supplementation for Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections Among Children Age 4-6 Years Ol | Respiratory Tract Infections (RTI) | 60 | Not yet recruiting | — | — |
| NCT05619952 | Postprandial Lipemia and Glycemia Following a High-Fat Meal | Hypercholesterolemia, Postprandial Hyperglycemia | 16 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT02019628 | Enhanced Natural Killer Cell Activity and RBAC | Family Member | 20 | Completed | — | 1 g, 3 g |
| NCT02690103 | Response Modifier (Arabinoxylan Rice Bran/MGN-3/Biobran) With Interferon-Alpha for HCV | Hepatitis C, Chronic | 37 | Completed | — | 180µg, 1g per day |
| NCT04646980 | Biobran/MGN-3 Increases Innate Resistance and Reduces the Incidence of Influenza-like Illnesses | Influenza-like Illness | 80 | Completed | — | 500 mg |
| NCT07118735 | AHCC® as Immune Modulator in Cancer Patients Treated With Immunotherapy | Liver Cancer, Hepatocellular Carcinoma | 94 | Not yet recruiting | — | 3 g |
| NCT06752083 | Efficacy of Lentinula Edodes-Derived Supplement (AHCC®) in Promoting Negativity of Persistent HPV Infection | HPV Infection | 289 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT00677027 | Dose Escalation Safety Study of MM-10-001 in Healthy Subjects | Healthy | 50 | Unknown | — | — |
| NCT00002098 | Phase I/II Study of the Tolerance and Efficacy of Combined Use of Didanosine (2',3'-Dideoxyinosine; ddI) and L | HIV Infections | 50 | Completed | — | — |
| NCT00002099 | Phase II/III Study of the Tolerance and Efficacy of Combined Use of Didanosine (2',3'-Dideoxyinosine; ddI) and | HIV Infections | — | Unknown | — | — |
The compounds the research names
Formula and mass from PubChem. Naming a compound is not a claim that it does anything in a person.
C9H11N5O4
C9H15N3O2S
What it looks like in the field
Research-grade observations, each by a different photographer. Every one links to the record it came from.
In the kitchen
Strongly savoury, almost meaty; dried ones are far more intense than fresh.
Stems removed and saved for stock. Dried shiitake soaked in warm water gives you both the mushroom and the most useful cooking liquid in the kitchen.
Eating a lot of them raw or barely cooked can cause shiitake dermatitis, a striking whip-like rash. Cook them.
Where it has been recorded, and when it fruits
1,904 verified occurrence records with coordinates, from GBIF. This is where people have recorded it, which follows where recorders live as much as where the fungus grows — read the shape, not the ranking.
| Australia | 605 | |
| United States | 404 | |
| Finland | 237 | |
| Japan | 225 | |
| South Korea | 169 | |
| Belgium | 43 | |
| Russia | 34 | |
| Taiwan | 27 | |
| China | 21 | |
| New Zealand | 15 | |
| Germany | 14 | |
| PG | 13 |
Most records fall in Sep. Northern-hemisphere recorders dominate the dataset, so a southern population would not show here.
iNaturalist separately holds 448 research-grade observations of it.
What has been reported going wrong
15 voluntary reports to the US Food and Drug Administration name a product by this mushroom's name. A report is someone saying something happened after taking something. It is not a finding that the product caused it, the FDA says so itself, and nobody knows how many people took the product without reporting anything.
| Vomiting | 7 |
| Diarrhoea | 6 |
| Nausea | 6 |
| Abdominal Pain | 3 |
| Chills | 2 |
| Dizziness | 2 |
| Fatigue | 2 |
| Malaise | 2 |
| Pyrexia | 2 |
| Abdominal Discomfort | 1 |
| Adverse Reaction | 1 |
| Other Serious or Important Medical Event | 7 |
| Other Outcome | 6 |
| Disability | 2 |
| Life Threatening | 1 |
| Other Serious Outcome | 1 |
| Visited Emergency Room | 1 |
The newest randomised trials and reviews
Indexed in Europe PMC. Titles and journals only — follow the link to read the paper where the publisher allows it.