Chaga Mushroom - Inonotus Obliquus

Chaga, Inonotus obliquus, grows on the birch tree, Betula, in the family Betulaceae. The important metabolite birch produces is betulin, which concentrates inside the chaga. From betulin we get betulinic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene. Betulinic acid is being studied as an anticancer agent ⁶. Studies have found betulin effective against gastric carcinoma ¹, pancreatic carcinoma ², and squamous cell skin cancer ³. It is antiviral and antimalarial ⁴. It appears to have particularly effective cytotoxic results against hormone-dependent breast cancer and works by disrupting mitochondrial signaling pathways ⁵. Chaga contains betulin in the rusty orange interior while the skin of the fungus turns black in sun exposure due to the melanin it contains. This black crust is rich in antioxidants. Chaga can be taken as a tincture, or a pleasant tea. 

I sell it as a tincture here.

¹ Wang H, Wang H, Ge L, et al. Betulinic acid targets drug-resistant human gastric cancer cells by inducing autophagic cell death, suppresses cell migration and invasion, and modulates the ERK/MEK signaling pathway. Acta Biochim Pol. 2021;69(1):25-30. doi:10.18388/abp.2020_5530

² Drag M, Surowiak P, Drag-Zalesinska M, Dietel M, Lage H, Oleksyszyn J. Comparision of the cytotoxic effects of birch bark extract, betulin and betulinic acid towards human gastric carcinoma and pancreatic carcinoma drug-sensitive and drug-resistant cell lines. Molecules. 2009;14(4):1639-1651. Published 2009 Apr 24. doi:10.3390/molecules14041639

³ Yuan DY, Meng Z, Xu K, et al. Betulinic acid increases radiosensitization of oral squamous cell carcinoma through inducing Sp1 sumoylation and PTEN expression. Oncol Rep. 2017;38(4):2360-2368. doi:10.3892/or.2017.5872

⁴ Wang X, Lu X, Zhu R, et al. Betulinic Acid Induces Apoptosis in Differentiated PC12 Cells Via ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Pathway. Neurochem Res. 2017;42(4):1130-1140. doi:10.1007/s11064-016-2147-y

⁵ Bishayee A, Ahmed S, Brankov N, Perloff M. Triterpenoids as potential agents for the chemoprevention and therapy of breast cancer. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2011 Jan 1;16(3):980-96. doi: 10.2741/3730. PMID: 21196213; PMCID: PMC3057757.

⁶ Géry A, Dubreule C, André V, Rioult JP, Bouchart V, Heutte N, Eldin de Pécoulas P, Krivomaz T, Garon D. Chaga ( Inonotus obliquus), a Future Potential Medicinal Fungus in Oncology? A Chemical Study and a omparison of the Cytotoxicity Against Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells (A549) and Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells (BEAS-2B). Integr Cancer Ther. 2018 Sep;17(3):832-843. doi: 10.1177/1534735418757912. Epub 2018 Feb 27. PMID: 29484963; PMCID: PMC6142110.