Turkey Tail

Scientific Name(s): Coriolus versicolor, Polyporus versicolor, Trametes versicolor L. ex Fr. Quel.
Common Name(s): Cloud mushroom, Kawaratake (Japan), Krestin, Polysaccharide peptide, Polysaccharide-K, PSK, PSP, Turkey tail, Turkey tail mushroom, Yun zhi (China)

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Oct 21, 2021.

Clinical Overview

Use

T. versicolor extract (ie, PSK) is approved as a pharmaceutical-grade medicine in Japan and has been used for more than 30 years as a treatment for cancer. In clinical trials, PSK has been used as an adjuvant to chemotherapy to manage gastric, colon, and colorectal cancer, whereas the extract PSP has been used for late-stage lung cancer and as a prebiotic. A combination medicinal mushroom formulation of T. versicolor plus Ganoderma lucidum was observed to clear oral human papilloma virus (HPV) in patients with HPV-positive gingivitis.

Dosing

Cancer: As an adjuvant to chemotherapy, PSK 3 g/day orally for up to 7 years has been used in postsurgical colon, colorectal, and gastric cancer patients (may be given alternating with 4-week courses of chemotherapy). PSP 3.06 g/day for 1 month was administered to conventionally treated patients with stage III to IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Prebiotic: PSP 1,080 mg (3 capsules) 3 times daily.

Contraindications

Contraindications have not been determined.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Avoid use. Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.

Interactions

None well documented.

Adverse Reactions

Diarrhea, darkened stools, and darkened nail pigmentation have been reported. Turkey tail glucan products (PSP or PSK) have been safely consumed at doses of 1 g or more per day for up to 10 years in cancer patients.

Toxicology

Research reveals little or no information regarding toxicity.

Scientific Family

• Polyporaceae

Botany

T. versicolor (also known as Coriolus versicolor or Polyporus versicolor) is a mushroom in the Basidiomycotina division (Basidiomycetes) and is commonly known as "turkey tail." The turkey tail fungus is found throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Its fruiting bodies overlap one another, forming a dense mass that grows on tree trunks, stumps, and fallen trees. The distinctive layers created by these bodies may be light to dark brown or gray. The polysaccharides of the fruiting bodies are sweet and mild in taste, and are commercially marketed as a tea used in Asian and European traditional medicine.1, 2, 3

History

T. versicolor has been consumed for centuries in Asia as part of a traditional diet and has been used medicinally.4 Folklore remedies of turkey tail include the treatment of lung and liver infections. In China, turkey tail has been used as a preventive and curative agent for liver infections and liver cancer. In Japan, it is considered a panacea for a variety of cancers. Overall, the mycelium and fruiting body of the mushroom are considered to have immune stimulatory and anticarcinogenic activities. Clinical research with PSK began around 1970 and has focused on its immunotherapeutic efficacy in stomach, colorectal, esophageal, nasopharyngeal, lung, and breast cancers. In Japan, it has been approved as a pharmaceutical-grade medicine for cancer treatment and used for more than 30 years with consistent clinical efficacy.1, 5, 6, 7

In Chinese medicine, C. versicolor is characterized as being slightl...