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<DIV>
<DIV>Though not plants...</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial; PADDING-TOP: 10pt">----- Original Message -----
<DIV><B>From:</B> <A title=mailto:davis_tutor@yahoo.com
href="mailto:davis_tutor@yahoo.com">Linda Davis</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=mailto:WorthleyBotany@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:WorthleyBotany@yahoogroups.com">WorthleyBotany@yahoogroupscom</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, March 25, 2005 5:07 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [WorthleyBotany] Mushroom News</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Medicinal Mushrooms from Old-Growth Forests </STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>May Counter Smallpox and Similar Viruses<BR></STRONG><BR>KAMILCHE
POINT, Wash., Mar 25, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mycologist Paul<BR>Stamets tests
over 100 mushroom extracts with NIH and USAMRIID. Several show<BR>selective
potent anti-viral properties.<BR><BR>Recent in vitro tests demonstrate that a
specially prepared extract from<BR>Fomitopsis officinalis is highly selective
against viruses. The wood conk<BR>mushroom has been known for thousands of years
as Agarikon. It is extinct or<BR>nearly so in Europe and Asia, and is still
found in the old-growth forests<BR>of the American Pacific Northwest. It may
provide novel anti-viral drugs<BR>useful for protecting against pox and other
viruses.<BR><BR>That is the forecast of Paul Stamets, owner and director of the
research<BR>laboratories of Fungi Perfecti of Kamilche Point, Washington. He is
a<BR>mycologist--a fungus expert. For the past two years, Stamets has
prepared<BR>more than a hundred strains of medicinal mushroom extracts for
testing by<BR>the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),
part of<BR>the National Institutes of Health and the US Army Medical Research
Institute<BR>of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), in their joint biodefense
antiviral<BR>screening program. The results to date promise breakthroughs on
this<BR>biomedical frontier.<BR><BR>While several strains of extract generated
strong anti-pox activity, other<BR>strains were less potent. This underscores
the importance of conserving<BR>mycodiversity. More potent strains may yet be
discovered. As for F.<BR>officinalis, this mushroom was first described 2000
years ago as an<BR>anti-inflammatory medicine by Dioscorides, the Greek
physician in his text<BR>Materia Medica.<BR><BR>"The ecological niche for these
unique mushrooms is increasingly jeopardized<BR>as humans destroy old-growth
habitats," comments Stamets. "As this happens,<BR>the pool of available strains
will be further reduced. Acquiring as many<BR>strains as possible should be an
international priority so that preventive<BR>or curative medicines against pox
and related viruses can be developed.<BR>Personally, I believe we should be
saving our old growth forests as a matter<BR>of national
defense."<BR><BR>Besides having a direct anti-viral or anti-bacterial effect,
mushroom<BR>derivatives can also activate the natural immune system. Evaluations
in an<BR>animal model are planned for the near future. "Until then,"
Stamets<BR>cautions, "we cannot draw conclusions about the ultimate
effectiveness of<BR>these mycologically based antivirals." Testing against other
viruses<BR>continues. Stamets has already been granted a patent on
fungus-derived<BR>products; several more are in the offing. His research has
been self-funded<BR>from his other businesses.</DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>