Medical evidence for ‘Birch Polypore’

[Darryl of Sussex]

Fomitopsis Betulina/ Piptoporus Betulinus
Common name: Birch Polypore, Razor Strop, Birch Bracket.

I haven’t yet found any reliably referenced evidence that supports medicinal use of THIS fungus. I have read and seen lots of discussion and videos about using this polypore to sharpen a blade, cutting strips off to use as a plaster for minor cuts, as well as multitudes of anecdotal claims supporting its use as ‘medicine’ ie.making tea with it and speculation about what ‘Ötzi’ might have used it for but nothing yet which has been properly referenced in any reasonable way, as will be found with properly trialled allopathic medicines.

So what i’m asking for are links to properly referenced double-blind RCTs (medical trials)which have been peer reviewed, medical reports from legitimate sources and facts that prove its efficacy beyond placebo. What I don’t want are belief arguments or ‘read this website’ links to anything other than scientifically referenced studies.

Very grateful for any help regarding this,

Best wishes,

Darryl

 

[Nice65]

There’s an inherent problem with finding well researched and tested information on the possible beneficial effects of plants and fungi. They’re not licencable, so the huge funds needed for the research don’t offer much in the way of return for the greedy companies.

I think this is correct info, someone may be along to put me right or add more.

 

[Toddy]

Fomitopsis Betulina/ Piptoporus Betulinus
Common name: Birch Polypore, Razor Strop, Birch Bracket.

I haven’t yet found any reliably referenced evidence that supports medicinal use of THIS fungus. I have read and seen lots of discussion and videos about using this polypore to sharpen a blade, cutting strips off to use as a plaster for minor cuts, as well as multitudes of anecdotal claims supporting its use as ‘medicine’ ie.making tea with it and speculation about what ‘Ötzi’ might have used it for but nothing yet which has been properly referenced in any reasonable way, as will be found with properly trialled allopathic medicines.

So what i’m asking for are links to properly referenced double-blind RCTs (medical trials)which have been peer reviewed, medical reports from legitimate sources and facts that prove its efficacy beyond placebo. What I don’t want are belief arguments or ‘read this website’ links to anything other than scientifically referenced studies.

Very grateful for any help regarding this,

Best wishes,

Darryl

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380686/

They've changed it's name again.....

M

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

There’s an inherent problem with finding well researched and tested information on the possible beneficial effects of plants and fungi. They’re not licencable, so the huge funds needed for the research don’t offer much in the way of return for the greedy companies.

I think this is correct info, someone may be along to put me right or add more.

That’s a well stated point and I completely agree.

Much of the information attached to or associated with any claimed medical uses and effects, contain exact chemical composition, what those chemicals have been used for in modern medicine, along with positive medical effects and claims that by making tea or eating it, amounts to the same things as extracting such compounds in labs, turning it into licensed medicines and so on. I have found that confusing. Perhaps what i’m doing is thinking out loud while reminding myself that making mushroom tea isn’t the same thing as extracting compounds in labs and making licensed (funded and profit analysed) medicines from it. The plot thinnens.

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380686/

They've changed it's name again.....

M

Thanks, that’s exactly what I was looking for.

Yup. My Roger Phillips book needs updating.

From the conclusion:
“With a few exceptions, we still do not know the mechanisms underlying the biological activities. Verification of biological activities in in vivo and clinical studies is also required. The further research could contribute to better exploitation of the F. betulina application potential.”

 

[Toddy]

Bound to be other articles like that though. Problem for us is that they won't be written in English, but most likely in German, Russian, Czech, or one of the Scandinavian ones.
The Scandinavians often publish in English too, but the rest often use German as their alternate language.
Germany has a pharmacopeia of herbal drugs that are widely researched and used. They don't have quite the same hangups about it that we have. Even the EU hasn't managed to stifle that.

M

 

[Janne]

Many plants contain bio active gents, but in clinically insignificant amounts.
The importance is in finding these previously unknown compounds, test them, take the active ones then devise method of industrial manufacture, be it synthetic, or by producing in a genetically modified way.

Many of our modern medicines came into being this way.

Research can be done by two types of research bodies, which is private/corporate ( Pharma industry) or state owned Universities.
Of course, research is done in universities funded by private companies.

Having been involved in a bit of research myself after my graduation, I tend to trust pure Uni research the most, privately funded Uni research the least.

Sure you can use the polypore by making tea and such, but remember that many biologically active compounds get destroyed by heat.

Also, many Folk medicines work due to the placebo effect.

The German medical laws are a bit different yes, and the result has been a multitude of 'clinic' that 'treat' patients with totally useless methods, at a huge, huge cost.

Examples like magnetic therapy, herbal therapies, heat therapy. Mainly of stage 4 cancers where our medical specialist recommend palliative treatment.

Outside Germany, we call them criminal quacks.

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

Many plants contain bio active gents, but in clinically insignificant amounts.
The importance is in finding these previously unknown compounds, test them, take the active ones then devise method of industrial manufacture, be it synthetic, or by producing in a genetically modified way.

Many of our modern medicines came into being this way.

Research can be done by two types of research bodies, which is private/corporate ( Pharma industry) or state owned Universities.
Of course, research is done in universities funded by private companies.

Having been involved in a bit of research myself after my graduation, I tend to trust pure Uni research the most, privately funded Uni research the least.

Sure you can use the polypore by making tea and such, but remember that many biologically active compounds get destroyed by heat.

Also, many Folk medicines work due to the placebo effect.

Yes, i’m with you as reagrds which research to trust and the effects of folklore and placebo. That’s sort of why I asked; to try to open this up for me and hopefully others too. I’ll drink Birch Polypore tea any day but only once I can be certain it won’t negatively affect me and if some extract can be used to help others, bring it on. I’m always keen to clarify belief vs fact.

 

[Janne]

That is incredibly difficult, clarify belief vs fact.

For example: Folk medicine in Bohemia ( maybe elsewhere too?) believed that placing a thick bandage of spiderweb on an infected wound helped.
Yes it could. The mold Penicillinum can be sometimes be found on these. So the Penicillin would help. But, if you take the web from where cattle grazed, it can kill you.

In my ancestor's village there is a church, built beside a spring where Maria told a sick man with stomach pains, that he should stay there and drink the water over several days. He did, got better. A miracle. A church was built. A well dug.
My dad made a chemical analysis - lots of Iron, Sulphur. So maybe he had a bleeding ulcer and was low on hemo Iron? Sulphur? Maybe helps?
Then he made another analysis. Extremely high levels of Uranium, Radon gas and radiation.
His conclusion was that the radioactive elements basically gave the man an internal radiotherapy, the Iron helped his Hemo levels.
Dad's diagnosis was either a stomach cancer or ulcers.

People used to trek to this church, pray and take the water, but he had the well closed up.
Back in the mid 60's.

All folk remedies are not gentle, or harmless.....

 

[Toddy]

No one has said that they were, on this thread, which is why the OP asked the question.

German herbalism is not only researched and published, but peer reviewed.
I'm not saying that there aren't 'quack' clinics, but I am saying that their research is sound and their publications are done with scientific rigour.

https://books.google.co.uk/books/ab...p_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

and a Russian one....
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114002827

 

[Janne]

Herbalism has certainly a place in treating light problems, nobody is disputing that. But I would not put my life on them.



His original question can be answered quite simply; Not enough research has been done. We simply do not know how effective it is. And again what.
There is no reliable, referenced, double blind research.

 

[Robson Valley]

There's good reason to put some faith in 15,000 years of botanical medications.
More and more "western" medical research has demonstrated factual proof of value.
Even if concentrations are low, you can bet your last bottle that the preparations here
will concentrate the active ingredient without denaturing it. Oplopanax horridus (Devil's Club) is a really good example.
Most people miss out on paleo knowledge. Don't forget it is entirely modern here.
I can and do buy herbals from the Medicine Woman, west of my place.
You realize, of course, that many so-called "cough medicines" are made from herbs of known value?

Many of the most effective antibiotics are derived from soil bacteria, First Nations knew little of that.
Anti Biotic. To watch it in action in a Petri Dish, it looks like a strategy to lessen resource competition.
The latest discovery has come in the last month(?) of results from soil bacteria in archaic soil samples from Ireland.
It may just be a weapon for the most antibiotic-resistant disease bacteria on earth.

 

[Janne]

Absolutely, most active ingredients come from mother Nature.
I was unlucky enough to be the Platoon leader that accompanied a Japanese research team in the Swedish mountains, close to the Norwegian/Finnish border...
It was interesting.

Plans can have beneficial compounds. But we should not forget that they also can have harmful compounds. Toxins, cancerogenic etc.

I wish the states could spend money on this research instead of space research!

I wish somebody could invest some money and design a Slowspeed drill that is vibration free and a silent Highspeed one....

So future generations of dentists could have intact hearing. And keep 100% of the fingertip feel
I heard my last bird song a few years ago, and could have a meaningful conversation in a crowded bar with music about a Decade ago..

I can still turn a page in a proper, quality book, but just.

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

No one has said that they were, on this thread, which is why the OP asked the question.

German herbalism is not only researched and published, but peer reviewed.
I'm not saying that there aren't 'quack' clinics, but I am saying that their research is sound and their publications are done with scientific rigour.

https://books.google.co.uk/books/ab...p_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

and a Russian one....
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114002827

Thanks for those links. I’m really glad the PDF is available, as the translated book costs from £250 !! It’s a relatively easy read too. I may be gone for some time...

 

[Janne]

Bedtime reading is sorted for a week!

 

[Robson Valley]

Of course, botanical medicines can be beneficial or toxic. The Medicine Woman knows all that.
That's why I made the effort to point out that they have 15,000 years of experience here.
They are taught and learn the differences. They are taught and learn the preparations and dosages.

There are some modern text books for here to identify the plants but they all stop short of preparation.

Lots and lots of modern Big Pharma medicines are toxic if not down right poisonous.
You can read that as "side effects" (you are exhibiting signs of being poisoned, agreed?).
Maybe a herbal and a modern drug act in concert and kill you.

 

[Janne]

We should start a thread about home remedies ( that does not kill you)

 

[Toddy]

Reply to RobsonValley

Good points, very good points.

All medications need care, and what works well for some does not always do so for all.

There's a point made there RV that's often overlooked. Much herbal medicine is taken as a completeness, the entire flourish of meadowsweet for instance, not the extraction that made aspirin.
One is gentle on the stomach, the other eats holes in it......and that kind of issue is seen right across the range of herbal and pharmaceutical potions.

M

 

[photonician]

Lots and lots of modern Big Pharma medicines are toxic if not down right poisonous.
You can read that as "side effects" (you are exhibiting signs of being poisoned, agreed?).
Maybe a herbal and a modern drug act in concert and kill you.

"Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison." is a quote from Paracelsus , himself an expert on folk medicine.

Yep, medicines have side effects. Almost *everything* has a side-effect, if you take too much of it. That includes herbal medicines...

In fact, the only reason that we know so much about the side-effects of the so-called "Big Pharma" medicines is because a lot of effort is expended finding out about them during the course of drug development. The process works towards finding a dose that maximises the good effects and minimises the bad.

It's a process that is ongoing as long as a drug is on the market. Every manufacturer has a requirment to undertake "Pharmacovigilance", which is basically monitoring the safety of the drug and assessing any safety signals (unexpected side-effects for example), which are then reported to the regulators. The goverment agencies that regulate medicines also monitor these things (the Yellow Card scheme that exists in the UK is an example of this).

The problem is, that level of monitoring and work *isn't there* for the majority of herbal medicines. Manufacturers of herbal medicines aren't involved in these monitoring schemes, and the amount of evidence that they need to show that what they are making is not harmful is pretty small compared to even the most inocuous of pharmaceuticals. By their very nature, the concentrations of their active ingredients can be extremely varied, and for many, the active compounds are actually unknown, which makes things even more difficult to estimate your dose.

it turns out herbal medicines *do* have side effects, and quite serious ones... even at their 'common' doses.
Echinacea can cause liver toxicity after longer term use.

Aristolochic acid, which is present in several medicinal herb preparations can cause kidney damage.

In fact there's a whole list of herbal medicines that have some pretty nasty side-effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_herbs_with_known_adverse_effects

Herbal medicine is ancient: the knowlege is, and will remain, beneficial. However, herbal medicines *aren't* a panacea. They contain things that can be as toxic and damaging as any of the harshest drugs.

 

[Darryl of Sussex]

More or less exactly sums up what I think. Without getting all tangled in confirmation bias tribalism. Well presented too.

Thanks,

Darryl