Status: published in 2013. The sections on beta glucan pharmacology require updating.
Medicinal mushrooms have a lot to contribute to an herbalist’s practice. Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor[1]) is begging to be used, like the little kid persistently raising its hand in the classroom, “Pick me! Pick me! Pick me ppllleeaassee!” This little mushroom--so tenacious, resilient & adaptable--has so much to offer in terms of medicine. Their earthen-colored fan shapes herald the arrival of the rains as they move in and digest dead trees, turning them into soil so new life can sprout. These decomposing fungal organisms (known as primary decomposers) are vital in the cycle of life & the seasons, each one an agent in an autumnal pull back to the earth, doing the good dirty work so new life can leap forward in the next season[2].
Turkey Tail mushrooms are busy little beavers in our ecosystems, aiding decomposition & soil generation. In human & animal bodies, the story changes. They means by which they support immune function are enchanting–providing clever little nudges here & there that invigorate our immune response. They’re ubiquitous in the wild and versatile in combination with other plant medicines. To me, this makes them a key member of the apothecary.
Learning about Turkey Tail mushrooms is a welcome lesson in antifragility. Antifragility refers to the concept that certain systems thrive from shocks, volatility, and stressors in the environment. We see this phenomenon in post-traumatic growth, scandalous & volatility-loving celebrity reputations, evolutionary paths of species, and adaptive mechanisms in human bodies. We not only tolerate shocks, but we need a bit of it.
This particularly holds for our immune systems, which tends to go haywire when bored or gradually weakened by chronic infections and persistent environmental stressors. A little shake-up every now and then invigorates the organism & system. It’s part of our nature.
When our immune system gets lax & stagnant, its activity gets misdirected and can turn on itself. Like the bored student who starts to heckle her classmates or the family that bickers when snowed in for 5 days. Put an engaging assignment in front of her, give the family members a new board game and all is peaceful. Stimuli like this have a purifying effect on relationships. This is known in some circles as hormesis, and it’s responsible for the health benefits of exercise, intermittent fasting, (beneficial responses to) vaccinations, and the tissue repair processes stimulated by certain kinds of oxidative stress & inflammation. All involve clever stressors that nudge the system into strengthening the adaptive response.[3]
Turkey Tail mushrooms help our immune systems adapt by providing a clever stressor. Their B-glucans (polysaccharide) are the constituents considered most responsible for this hormetic effect. (They are contained in all fungal cell walls, so B-glucans are universal in medicinal mushrooms.) Upon ingestion, they dock with receptors in the small intestine, which initiates an immune response (B-glucans resemble a bacterial cell to the body). Different mushrooms have varying beta glucans and each elicits a slightly different effect on the immune system.
This is the cornerstone mechanism for Turkey Tail’s pharmacological effect in the body. Being the most studied medicinal mushroom, Turkey Tail is widely used in contemporary cancer treatment in Asia. The mushroom contains 2 notable protein-bound polysaccharide complexes: PSP & PSK (both are B-glucans). They help inhibit tumor development directly while stimulating a host-mediated immune response, making it a preferred complementary therapy among integrative oncologists & medical herbalists. (PSK is an approved cancer drug in Asia.) While most of the clinical trials concerning Turkey Tail are conducted with PSP & PSK (which don’t give a complete picture of Turkey Tail as a whole organism), studies are currently underway using the whole biomass–a welcome improvement. Other areas with research support include HIV, HSV, Hep C, and Chronic Fatigue syndrome. I’ve seen cases where Turkey Tail has helped cases of viral meningitis, Lyme disease (and particularly neurolyme), and mononucleosis.
Being a widely available & agreeable mushroom, I use Turkey Tail often. I particularly employ it in cases of immune suppression & sluggishness–especially when it appears to be a chronic or persisting condition. I find its taste to be neutral-slightly sweet and only slightly warming. It agrees with most people I see. The client presentation that makes me think of Turkey Tail is some bogged down with chronic infections and is running colder/cloudier because of it. (And this mushroom blends very well with Rosemary for this. A favorite combination of mine is Turkey Tail/Rosemary/Ashwaganda for these types of cases.) Because of this, it’s a quasi-adaptogen of mine. From personal experience, working with several clients, and hearing a bajillion anecdotes, I think that medicinal mushrooms help our immune systems become more adaptive and, in some ways, more intelligent. Their clever prodding helps us keep our systems on their toes, invigorating us in the process.
These forest darlings have been with people a long time. Trametes species have been used for centuries around the globe, including China, Mexico, Finland, and even England. I’ve also seen references to Australian Aboriginal use of Trametes species of sucking on the polypore for mouth sores. But most of the traditional use comes from Ancient China & Japan, where mushrooms were enthusiastically embraced in healing & medicine traditions. (In contrast, Western cultures tended towards mycophobia, associating the fungal beings with witchcraft & devilry.) The Ancient Taoists observed its ease in growing on pine trees–a notoriously antifungal wood. This fashioned a reputation for Turkey Tails as one of stubbornness, resilience & strength. In Japan, it earned the name kawaritake, meaning “bellowing clouds.” This also conveyed a sense of longevity, divinity & spiritual resilience. It was used for centuries in TCM to clear damp condition, strengthen the lungs, stomach, & spleen, increase energy & assist in convalescence in long-term diseases.
Finding Turkey Tail Mushrooms
These mushrooms are primary saprophytes, meaning that they grow on fresh, organic material (mostly wood). They’re found in every state in the country and are known as ‘bracket fungi,’ which form leathery/leaf-like structures in concentric circles. When you’re in the field, you want to look for the characteristic Turkey Tail fan shape, with tiny pores underneath & a hairy/velvety top surface. There are other Trametes species–notably T. hirstua, which is usually white & paper thin. There is also a False Turkey Tail (Stereum ostrea) which is larger and funnel-shaped when compared to the true Turkey Tail. (Michael Kuo has a ‘True Turkey Tail’ key on his website, listed below.) I read on one site, “Found everywhere on dead logs & stumps. If you can’t find them, you need to visit an eye doctor or give up mushroom collecting.”
They are also silly easy to cultivate. Being quite the aggressive little guys, they’ll pretty much grow on any type of wood (except for cedar, cypress, pine, and redwood). You can pick up plug spawn to inoculate to fresh logs fairly inexpensively. In fact, due to their prolific fruiting habits & abundance, they are one of the most common contaminants of other mushroom logs (like Shiitake or Maitake). It’s a weedy little mushroom.
A Few Worthy Recipes
While some say that Turkey Tail smells like gym socks, I find their flavor to be very mild (when compared with Reishi, Shiitake & the like). So these little critters often find their way into my decoctions. I especially like this blend below as a nourishing adrenal/immune/nervous system tonic. Use a generous pinch (the 4-finger pinch as I call it) each of the following and prepare as usual.