Birch Polypore Tincture

Piptoporus betulinus, the mushroom that has been carried by Ötzi the "Iceman", has a long tradition of use in medicinal practice for its antiseptic, anticancer, and immune-enhancing properties. With this study, we aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of P. betulinus on primary human immunocompetent cells


I. INTRODUCTION
Piptoporus betulinus (Bull.: Fr.) P. Karst. (=Poly-porus betulinus Bull.: Fr.) (Fomitopsidaceae, Aphyllophoromycetideae), commonly known as Birch polypore, Birch bracket, or Razor strop mushroom, is a hardwood-specific weak parasite that infects old and otherwise weakened species (=Poly-porus betulinus Bull.: Fr.) (Fomitopsidaceae, Aphyllophoromycetideae), commonly known as
Birch polypore, Birch bracket, or Razor strop mushroom, is a hardwood-specific weak parasite that infects old and otherwise weakened species of genus Betula in northern temperate forest. It is also one of the most common brown rot spe-cies in central Europe.!2 The earliest evidence of P. betulinus being used by humans dates from 5300 years ago. This fungus was carried by Ötzi, or Ice Man-the 5300-year-old mummified stone age man found in the Tyrol in 1991. Scientists believe that P. betulinus was used by Ice Man as tinder, as powerful purgatives; as a remedy against intestinal parasites, in particular Trichuris trichuria;
and thanks to oils contained in the fungus, as an agent against mycobacteria.'* Further, by boiling the fruiting bodies of P. betulinus, people prepared a rich tea with antibacterial, antifatiguing, immuno-enhancing, and soothing properties. P. betulinus has been commonly used in folk medicine, especially in
Poland and other Baltic countries. P. betulinus has been traditionally exploited as an antiparasitic and antimicrobial agent, and in the treatment of wounds for staunching bleeding.' In Sussex, UK, pieces of P. betulinus have been slowly steamed to produce a charcoal valued as an antiseptic and disinfectant.
In Bohemia, P. betulinus was used for the treatment of rectal cancer and stomach diseases. Traditional medicine was an inspiration for our studies, and the most interesting feature of P. betuli-nus, from our point of view, was its anticancer activ-ity. Unfortunately, there is practically no scientific evidence for the effectiveness of this mushroom as an antitumor agent. Studies conducted in 1995 showed that betulinic acid, a compound present in P. betulinus that is extracted and concentrated, was toxic to malignant melanoma cells without affecting healthy cells. These data corresponded with studies of Fulda and colleaguess, in which they found that, in contrast to the potent cytotoxicity of betulinic acid against a variety of cancer types, including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, glioblastoma, and Ewing's sarcoma cells, nonmalignant cells and normal tissue remained relatively resistant to this compound. A wide range of betulinic acid anticancer activities was demonstrated in Rzeski et al.'° In these studies, they observed a remark-able antiproliferative effect of betulinic acid in all tested tumor cell cultures, including neuroblastoma; rabdomyosarcoma-medulloblastoma; glioma; thy-
roid, breast, lung, and colon carcinoma; leukemia and multiple mycloma; as well as in primary cultures isolated from ovarian carcinoma, cervical carcinoma, and glioblastoma multiforme." Poly-
saccharides extracted from the mycelial culture of P. betulinus were found to inhibit the growth of Sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich solid cancers by 90%."'

The most recent evidence showed that the ether extract from fruiting bodies of P. betulinus at con-centrations of 50 pg/mL significantly decreased the viability of various human tumor cell lines (thyroid carcinoma, neuroblastoma, breast carcinoma, larynx carcinoma, and cervical carcinoma) in a time- and
dose-dependent manner. In the present study, we investigated in vitro the antitumor potential of fraction isolated from
P. betulinus. The effect on tumor cell proliferation, migration, and morphology, as well as on normal cell viability, was studied. Furthermore, the tested fraction was assessed for inhibition of the stimula-tory effect of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) on tumor cell proliferation.

Grunewald F, Steinborn C, Huber R, Wille R, Meier S, Alresly Z, Lindequist U, Gründemann C. Effects of Birch Polypore Mushroom, Piptoporus betulinus (Agaricomycetes), the "Iceman's Fungus", on Human Immune Cells. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2018;20(12):1135-1147. doi: 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2018029154. PMID: 30806295.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marta-Lemieszek/publication/225036896_Anticancer_Effect_of_Fraction_Isolated_from_Medicinal_Birch_Polypore_Mushroom_Piptoporus_betulinus_Bull_Fr_P_Karst_Aphyllophoromycetideae_In_Vitro_Studies/links/09e414fbe30a73632e000000/Anticancer-Effect-of-Fraction-Isolated-from-Medicinal-Birch-Polypore-Mushroom-Piptoporus-betulinus-Bull-Fr-P-Karst-Aphyllophoromycetideae-In-Vitro-Studies.pdf?origin=publication_detail&_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ

Pleszczyńska M, Wiater A, Siwulski M, Lemieszek MK, Kunaszewska J, Kaczor J, Rzeski W, Janusz G, Szczodrak J. Cultivation and utility of Piptoporus betulinus fruiting bodies as a source of anticancer agents. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2016 Sep;32(9):151. doi: 10.1007/s11274-016-2114-4. Epub 2016 Jul 27. PMID: 27465851; PMCID: PMC4963449.