beautiful turkey tail mushroom in Australia forest — Turkey tail fungus (Trametes versicolor). Synonyms: Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor

Turkey Tail & Gut Health

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) contain large B-glycan carbohydrate molecules which when consumed orally by humans are not digested by intestinal epithelial cells thus make their way to the large intestine where they interact with the microbes, therefore provide PREbiotic effects. Yu et.al., (2013) looked at the effect of Turkey Tail extracts on the human microbiota, they found the polysaccharide peptide (PSP) had the ability to alter the human microbiota in a positive manner. They found increased levels of generally good bacteria Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus whilst reducing some of the more generalised ‘bad’ bacteria such as Clostridium, Staphylococcus & Enterococcus. I should preface and say I don’t normally like the terms good and bad bacteria as these organisms are all commensals and have a symbiotic role as part of the gut microbiota however the problem is when the balance is out for instance quite often when assessing stool analysis Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus will be in lower levels and Clostridium and Enterococcus will be in higher levels that are desirable which can cause symptoms.

So these findings in this study I would say highlights turkey tails potential role in promoting a gut microbiota profile that resembles that of a healthy balance of bacteria. Aside from the microbes there were other effects observed, fermentation of the PSP resulted in increased desirable short chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, decreased the colonic pH and production of organic acids all with health promoting effects. As the authors conclude:

“This prebiotic-like activity may help explain some of the plethora of health benefits... Thus, we speculate that this prebiotic effect could be linked to prevention or amelioration of cancer through modulation of the immune system, suppression of colonisation by microbes that produce carcinogens or irritants, or by inducing production of secondary metabolites by the microbiota that could suppress carcinogenesis.”

Turkey Tail Mushroom Cancer Research & Immune System

Other notable effects Turkey Tail has include immunostimulatory activities such as production of interleukin-6, interferons, immunoglobulin-G, macrophages & T-lymphocytes. If that wasn’t enough studies have shown Turkey Tail’s ability to stimulate the production of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase thus boasting hepatoprotective/liver protection and antioxidant activity (Cheng, K.F.. 2008). In a more recent study Pallav et.al., (2014) results mirrored that of the earlier study and the authors concluded:

“PSP from T. versicolor [Turkey Tail] acts as a prebiotic to modulate human intestinal microbiome composition.”

A Clinical study using Turkey Tail as an adjunct therapy in combination with standard medical care on breast cancer patients found some significant promising effects of turkey tail empowering the immune system. They found a dose dependent increase in Natural Killer (NK) Cells & CD8+T cells & the authors concluded:

These findings show that up to 9 grams/day of a Tv [Trametes versicolor] preparation is safe and tolerable in women with breast cancer in the postprimary treatment setting. This Tv preparation may improve immune status in immunocompromised breast cancer patients following standard primary oncologic treatment.” Torkelson et.al., (2012).

I Highly recommend you watch this TED talk by Paul Stamets he makes particular mention of this particular clinical trail towards the end as well as a very moving personal account!!

Turkey Tail Recommendations

My personal recommendation and favourite is the Life Cykel company, their Double Extract Liquid Turkey Tail is an easy way to incorporate into your routine, can be simply taken straight (and no it does not have an awful taste!!), mixed with coffee, chai, turmeric lattes, juice, whatever takes your fancy. These guys use mushrooms grown in the beautiful Byron Bay region, I’ve been using them for a while now personally and within clinical practice with gut patients and seeing promising outcomes. With a lot of well marketed “health” products out there these days it can be tricky for the consumer to know what’s legit & and what shit - these are LEGIT ! - they get my full endorsement.

For a 10% discount simply use HOLISTIC10 as the coupon code when purchasing online -- https://bit.ly/3kCKec1

Other options if you don't have access to life cykel can be found at https://au.iherb.com/?rcode=QJL007 - just have a search and look for a reputable and preferable organic company.

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References

Cheng, K.F.. (2008). General review ofpolysaccharopeptides (PSP) from C. versicolor: Pharmacological and clinicalstudies. Cancer Ther. 6. 117-130.

Pallav, K., Dowd, S., Villafuerte, J., Yang, X.,Kabbani, T., Hansen, J., Dennis, M., Leffler, D., Newburg, D. and Kelly, C.(2014). Effects of polysaccharopeptide fromTrametes Versicolorand amoxicillinon the gut microbiome of healthy volunteers. Gut Microbes, 5(4),pp.458-467.

Torkelson, C., Sweet, E., Martzen, M., Sasagawa, M., Wenner, C., Gay, J., Putiri, A. and Standish, L., 2012. Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Trametes versicolor in Women with Breast Cancer. ISRN Oncology, 2012, pp.1-7.

Yu, Z., Liu, B., Mukherjee, P. and Newburg, D.(2013). Trametes versicolor Extract Modifies Human Fecal Microbiota CompositionIn vitro. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 68(2), pp.107-112.