Chapters 8.1
8.1-Chaga mushroom
Samantha Antonythasan , University of Guelph, Canada
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Antonythasan,S. (2022) Mushrooms And Fungi. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/
Introduction
The Chaga mushroom, scientifically known as Inonotus obliquus, is a parasitic fungus that is grown on birch trees in extremely cold climates (figure 1). A parasitic fungus forms a collaborative relationship with another living organism where they can benefit from the harm or damage to their host (National Park Service, 2021). The Chaga mushroom grows by feeding on nutrients and compounds of the birch tree but also works to help the decaying bark to heal (Faass et al., 2012). Although the Chaga mushroom helps heal the bark because it is a parasitic fungus that feeds on the nutrients of the birch it will eventually kill the birch tree over time. The Chaga mushroom can generally be identified easily by its black, crumbly, cinder-like outer appearance and a brown to yellow mottled, corky inner appearance. Unlike other parasitic fungi, the Chaga mushroom does not contain gills, pores, or teeth that are usually present on the fruiting bodies of fungi (Bowser, 2017). The size of the Chaga mushroom range from 8 to 12 inches, depending on the shape and weighs about 30 to 35 pounds (Faass et al., 2012). The Chaga mushroom was originally used by the Khanty people of Western Siberia, they found that regular consumption of this fungi helped with preventing long-term diseases. (Faass, 2012) According to Saar (1991), the Khanty people live on the banks of the Ob River and its tributaries in West Siberia. Saar (1991) also states that the Khanty people commonly used the Chaga mushroom by making it into Chaga tea. This tea is made by cutting the mushroom into small pieces then put into the water and boiling it for a few minutes. The mushroom can be smoked as well as ground, crushed, and put into stews, soups, and beverages, just like any other edible mushroom (Faass et al., 2012). It was also used to make soap water which is made by burning the mushroom then putting it into a pail of hot water and stirring until the mushroom broke into small pieces. This gave the water a strong cleaning and disinfecting ability (Saar, 1991). Furthermore, the Khanty people in Western Siberia used the Chaga mushroom during ritual ceremonies of washing and cleaning for women after menstruation or childbirth (Saar, 1991). The Chaga mushroom was later used by the Woods Cree of Saskatchewan. The Woods Cree believed that one of the origin stories of the Chaga mushroom is that Wisakedjak, a mythological being, threw a scab he mistook for a piece of dried meat against a birch tree and then tried to ingest it (Rogers, 2012).
Primary growth
The primary growth of the Chaga mushroom largely appears in the northern hemisphere, shown in Figure 2. Commonly the Chaga mushroom is found in Canada, Northern United States, Kazakhstan, Siberia, South Korea, China, Northern, and Eastern Europe. Within Canada the primary growth of birch trees, the trees that Chaga mushroom is found on, in Quebec, Ontario British, Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador (Quigley, 1969).
Benefits
One of the health benefits of the Chaga mushroom is that it is effective at fighting against cancers of the liver, uterus, breast, colon, skin, cervix, and lungs because it has an antioxidant that will slow down the growth of certain cancer cells (Barkwell, 2018). These antioxidants also help to lower blood pressure. It has also been found to be anti-viral and anti-inflammatory.
The Chaga mushroom contains many nutrients including B-complex vitamins, vitamin D, potassium, rubidium, cesium, amino acids, fiber, copper, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, and calcium (Villines, 2017). It was believed by the indigenous Siberian tribes that consuming Chaga on a regular basis, would lengthen one’s life span. This is because people who lived in similar climates that did not use Chaga would live about 40 to 50 years whereas the people in Siberian tribes would live about 90 to 110 years. Another advantage of the Chaga mushroom is its extreme cold resistance; it can grow in temperatures as low as -40 °C and is typically grown at altitudes of 45-50° (Liu et al., 2019).
Risks with consumption
Although a reliable amount of research has not been done for the risks and toxicities with consumption of the Chaga mushroom, there have been some cases of illness by Chaga mushroom reported since 2014. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control (2018), there have been five cases of potential illness associated with the consumption of Chaga mushroom specifically commercially sourced. The first case would be hepatitis and renal failure that occurred after the consumption of the Chaga mushroom combined with alder bark, treatment was still needed two months later. The second case is from the ingestion of Chaga mushroom mixed with other plant products such as maca powder and ginseng, which resulted in hepatitis. It was believed that renal failure could have been associated with a high oxalate content in the Chaga mushroom product. It was also mentioned in the article (BCCDC, 2018), that hepatitis that was caused by the mushroom was related to liver injury caused by drugs. The third case of illness was Bradycardic episodes which appeared after the consumption of 3 cups of Chaga used for the treatment of arthritis. The symptoms included vomiting and hypotension. The fourth and fifth cases are related to symptoms of bradycardia as well as lightheadedness (BCCDC, 2018). BC Centre for Disease Control (2018), also mentions that there have been some cases that have linked the consumption of the Chaga mushroom with liver and kidney issues.
References
1.Barkwell, L. J. (2018). La michinn: Traditional Métis medicine and healing. Louis Riel Institute.
2.BC Centre for Disease Control. (2018, July). Risk Assessment of Chaga Mushroom Tea. BC Centre for Disease Control.
3.Faass, N. (2012). The Healing Powers of Chaga. Journal of Health and Healing 35(4), 7-11 https://www.faim.org/sites/default/files/documents/PPNF-Journal-Chaga.pdf
4.Liu, Z., Yu, D., Li, L., Liu, X., Zhang, H., Sun, W., Lin, . C., Chen, J., Chen, Z., Wang, W., & Jia, W.(2019). Three-Phase Partitioning for the Extraction and Purification of Polysaccharides from the Immunomodulatory Medicinal Mushroom Inonotus obliquus. Molecules, 24(3), 403. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules24030403
5.National Park Service. (2021, April 21). Parasitic fungi. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/nature/parasitic-fungi.htm.
6.Rogers, R. D. (2012). The true tinder conk: First Nation’s use. Fungi, 5(3), 56-57.
7.Saar, M. (1991). Fungi in Khanty Folk Medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 31(2), 175-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(91)90003-V.
8.Villines, Z. (2017, July 22). “Chaga mushroom: Nine potential health benefits.” Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318527.php
9.Quigley, K. L. (1969). BIRCH TIMBER RESOURCES OF NORTH AMERICA. In Birch:Symposium Proceedings (p. 6). Northeastern Forest Experiment Station.