AHCC is a dietary supplement containing shiitake mushroom. It comes in 500mg capsules and is made in Sapporo, Japan, by the excellent Amino Up laboratory, and distributed by SuperSmart.
What benefits do Shiitake supplements offer?
Of the thousands of mushrooms found in nature, twelve have caught the attention of the scientific community because of their unique combination of health benefits. Shiitake, which has featured in certain natural pharmacopoeia for thousands of years, is one of them.
Mushrooms, particularly shiitake, help to normalise several of the body’s functions:
- Intestinal health. Shiitake mushrooms contain a large amount of insoluble fibre which increases the volume and weight of stools, facilitating bowel evacuation and reducing the risk of constipation. They also contain non-digestible sugars which act as food for beneficial bacteria in the gut and colon, helping to improve the integrity of the intestinal barrier.
- Cardiology. As a result of their high polysaccharide content, shiitake help to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, two factors associated with cardiovascular problems.
- Free radical activity. Shiitake have certain antioxidant properties and thus help to fight the oxidative stress that contributes to many age-related health problems. When the body is exposed to high numbers of free radicals, normal detoxification processes cannot function properly, producing a state of imbalance.
These properties are due to shiitake’s exceptionally rich nutritional value. In addition to its high content of lentinan and eritadenine, which act on innate and adaptive immune responses (1), shiitake contains AHCC, rich in partly acetylated alpha-1,4 glucan polysaccharides. AHCC is the subject of intensive research (2-11).
How is AHCC made?
AHCC is produced from the mushroom’s mycelium, cultured in a liquid medium using a proprietary method, under the strictest health controls.
The resulting dietary supplement consists of 10% alpha-1,4 glucans, a type of polysaccharide not normally found in mushrooms, which is derived only through this proprietary manufacturing process.
Daily dose: 2 capsules Number of doses per pack: 30 |
Amount per dose
|
AHCC® (extract of shiitake mycelium (Lentinus edodes) standardised to 10% alpha glucans) |
1000 mg |
Other ingredients : Acacia gum *AHCC© is a registered trademark of Amino Up Co., Ltd., Japan. |
Each capsule contains 500 mg of shiitake mushroom mycelium (Lentinus edodes).
Adults. Take two capsules a day. Each capsule contains 500mg of AHCC® (extracted from the mycelia of Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) standardised to 10% alpha glucans).
Caution: do not exceed the recommended daily dose. This product is a nutritional supplement and should not be used to replace a varied, balanced diet or healthy lifestyle. Keep out of young children’s reach. Store away from light, heat and humidity. As with all nutritional supplements, consult a health professional before taking if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or suffer from a health problem.
- Meng X, Liang H, Luo L. Antitumor polysaccharides from mushrooms: a review on the structural characteristics, antitumor mechanisms and immunomodulating activities. Carbohydr Res 2016;424:30–41.
- Sato K, Kashimoto M. Profile summary of AHCC: composition. In Clinician’s Guide to AHCC. Kulkarni AD, Calder PC. Ito T. Eds.: 24–33; International Congress on Nutrition and Integrative Medicine; 2017
- Roman BE, Beli E, Duriancik DM, Gardner EM. Shortterm supplementation with active hexose correlated compound improves the antibody response to influenza B vaccine. Nutr Res 2013;33:12–7.
- Nogusa S, Gerbino J, Ritz BW. Low-dose supplementation with active hexose correlated compound improves the immune response to acute influenza infection in C57BL/6 mice. Nutr Res 2009;29:139–43
- Ritz BW, Nogusa S, Ackerman EA, Gardner EM. Supplementation with active hexose correlated compound increases the innate immune response of young mice to primary influenza infection. J Nutr 2006;136:2868–73.
- Thaiudom S, Piyaniran W, Chutaputthi A. A study of the efficacy of active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients at Phramongkutklao Hospital. Med News Thailand 2010;325:13–6
- Smith JA, Mathew L, Gaikwad A, Rech B, Burney MN, Faro JP, et al. From Bench to Bedside: Evaluation of AHCC Supplementation to Modulate the Host Immunity to Clear High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infections. Front Oncol 2019;9:173
- Lee N., Shin M. S., Kang I. T-cell biology in aging, with a focus on lung disease. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2012;67A(3):254–263. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr237
- Schultz-Cherry S. Role of NK cells in influenza infection. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. 2015;386:109–120. doi: 10.1007/82_2014_403.
- Morvan M. G., Lanier L. L. NK cells and cancer: you can teach innate cells new tricks. Nature Reviews. Cancer. 2016;16(1):7–19. doi: 10.1038/nrc.2015.5.
- Sharma P., Allison J. P. Immune checkpoint targeting in cancer therapy: toward combination strategies with curative potential. Cell. 2015;161(2):205–214. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.03.030.