National Museum of Natural Science

This species has a worldwide distribution. After the fruiting body is dried in the sun it is ground into powder for medicine. Active ingredients include glucan, which can be used to treat hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis. However, it must be placed in boiling water and taken orally to be absorbed. During fermentation, the mycelium produces polysaccharopeptides (PSPs), which have earned the first medicinal fungus certification in China. PSPs are used for their anticancer and immune boosting properties in cancer patients, as well as to ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, improve appetite and relieve pain.

Trametes versicolor