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Praktické lekárnictvo 3/2017
Inonotus obliquuus – active compounds and therapeutic effects
Inonotus obliquus, commonly known as chaga, is a basidiomycetous wood-decaying fungus from Hymenochaetaceae family, growing usually on birch trees. Since the sixteenth century, chaga has been used as a folk medicine in Russia and Northern Europe, mainly for cancer and tuberculosis treatment. Many bioactive compounds were isolated from chaga mushroom, especially polysaccharides, triterpenes and steroids. Nowadays it is used throughout the world and many studies confirm its medicinal effects: anti-tumor, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and antidiabetic.
Keywords: Inonotus obliquus, chaga, medicinal mushrooms, anti-tumor effect, triterpenes, polysaccharides
