# Maitake mushroom extracts

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/maitake-mushroom/  
OnCo record `maitake-mushroom` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Maitake, or hen of the woods, is an edible mushroom whose extracts are sold to boost the immune system against cancer. Small studies show changes in immune markers, but no trial has shown that it shrinks cancer or helps people live longer. It can lower blood sugar, and in one person taking warfarin it made the blood slower to clot.

## Summary

Maitake (Grifola frondosa) is eaten widely in Asia and its beta-glucan extracts are sold to enhance immune function and, by some sellers, to treat cancer. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary describes antitumour, blood-cell-sparing and immune effects in laboratory and mouse studies, and calls the clinical data limited: a small case series with some reported regressions, and small trials showing immune changes in postmenopausal women with breast cancer, better neutrophil and monocyte function in myelodysplastic syndrome, and fewer chemoradiotherapy side effects in advanced laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer. None of these measured survival or response against a control in an adequately sized trial. MSK lists asymptomatic eosinophilia as a reported reaction, a case report of a raised INR with warfarin, and additive blood-sugar lowering with diabetes medicines. Eating the mushroom as food is generally safe.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: phase-2
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:insufficient
- Principle: Beta-glucans activate macrophages, natural killer cells and dendritic cells through receptors such as Dectin-1 in laboratory models; whether that translates into control of a human cancer has not been shown.
- Strengths: Safe as a food; Small human studies show measurable immune effects
- Limitations: No controlled trial with a cancer outcome; Warfarin and blood-sugar interactions; Supplement products vary

## Sources

- MSK About Herbs: Maitake (page last updated 9 July 2026): https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/maitake
- NCI PDQ: Medicinal mushrooms: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/mushrooms-pdq

## Connected records

- technologies: [AHCC (active hexose correlated compound)](https://onco.cc/technologies/ahcc-shiitake-extract/), [Chaga mushroom](https://onco.cc/technologies/chaga-mushroom/), [Dietary supplements during cancer treatment: interactions and harms](https://onco.cc/technologies/dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions/), [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Medicinal mushrooms: reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and others](https://onco.cc/technologies/medicinal-mushrooms-reishi-turkey-tail/)
- fronts: [Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle](https://onco.cc/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/), [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- bottlenecks: [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/)

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