Does maitake have any benefit against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)?
Yes. In the late 1980s, Japanese researchers determined maitake D-fraction enhanced helper Tcells, the target cells of HIV.26* This was one of the earliest clinical indications that maitake may be a potential treatment for HIV. Since then, test tube studies have shown some promising results in inhibiting HIV. Recently, the effect of the MDfraction was studied in 35 HIV-positive subjects for 360 days.27 The researchers monitored helper T-cell (CD4+) counts, viral load, symptoms of HIV infection, status of secondary disease, and subjects’ sense of well-being. Effects on the helper T-cell count and viral load were variable: helper Tcells increased in 20 patients, decreased in eight patients, and remained static in four patients. Viral load decreased in ten patients, increased in nine patients, and was static in two patients. The big change was that 85% of the patients reported an increased sense of well-being with regard to various symptoms and secondary diseases caused by HIV.
