AHCC® ( Active Hexose Correlated Compound ) (AHCC®, Amino Up Co. Ltd., Sapporo, Japan),is a derivative from the cultures of basidiomycetes fungi ( Basidiomycota R.T. Moore, 1980 ), in particular from the Lentinula edodes (or Shiitake) micellus (Berk.) Pegler 1976, one of the most pleasant tasting and most consumed edible fungi in the world.
This mushroom has an ancient history as a drug in traditional oriental medicine as a hepatoprotective and scientific literature accredits it with antioxidant and antifibrotic properties (1).
It has been used as a complementary and alternative anti-cancer therapy for the treatment of ovarian cancer (2).
It may play a significant role in orchestrating the immune response and maintaining immune homeostasis, in part by activating the TLR-2 and TLR-4 gate at the intestinal epithelium (3).
Oral intake of AHCC® and probiotic Bifidus BB536, which contains Bifidobacterium longum, may modulate T regulatory and DC phenotypes to favour anti-inflammatory responses following antibiotic usage (4).
AHCC supplementation for 12 wk can improve liver enzyme levels and pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines circulating in patients with alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation with slightly elevated liver enzyme levels (5).
The action of AHCC in promoting a protective response to a wide range of viral infections, and the current lack of effective vaccines, could support its use in the prevention of diseases caused by human coronavirus pathogens, including COVID-19 (6).
References______________________________________________________________
(1) Nathalie Janel, Christophe Noll. Polyphenols in Chronic Diseases and their Mechanisms of Action. Polyphenols in Human Health and Disease, 2014
(2) Jin Young Choi, Seul Lee, Sun-Mi Yun, Dong Hoon Suh, Kidong Kim, Jae Hong No, Eun-Hwan Jeong & Yong Beom Kim (2018) Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) Inhibits the Proliferation of Ovarian Cancer Cells by Suppressing Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) Activation, Nutrition and Cancer, 70:1, 109-115, DOI: 10.1080/01635581.2018.1380203
(3) Mallet, J., Graham, É., Ritz, B.W. et al. Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) promotes an intestinal immune response in BALB/c mice and in primary intestinal epithelial cell culture involving toll-like receptors TLR-2 and TLR-4. Eur J Nutr 55, 139–146 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0832-2
(4) Chowdhury, Abeed & Cámara, Miguel & Verma, Chandan & Eremin, Profo & Kulkarni, Anil & Lobo, Dileep. (2019). Modulation of T Regulatory and Dendritic Cell Phenotypes Following Ingestion of Bifidobacterium longum, AHCC® and Azithromycin in Healthy Individuals. Nutrients. 11. 2470. 10.3390/nu11102470.
(5) Kim H, Kim JH, Im JA. Effect of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) in alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2014;60(5):348–356. doi:10.3177/jnsv.60.348
(6) Di Pierro F, Bertuccioli A, Cavecchia I. Possible therapeutic role of a highly standardized mixture of active compounds derived from cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC) in patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 12]. Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2020;10.23736/S1121-421X.20.02697-5. doi:10.23736/S1121-421X.20.02697-5
