How does maitake beta-glucan fractions inhibit tumor growth?
Maitake researchers have identified four primary mechanisms by which maitake fights cancer:13-21 • By protecting healthy cells from becoming cancerous.* • By enhancing the immune system’s ability to seek out and destroy cancer cells.* • By helping the cell regain control of cell division and programmed cell death (apoptosis).* • By helping to prevent the spreading (metastasis) of cancer.* Another way in which maitake beta-glucan fractions may inhibit cancer formation is via enhancement of apoptosis, a distinct form of cell death controlled by an internally encoded suicide program.22* In cancerous cells, there is a tendency of suppression of this natural process of cell death. Instead of dying, the cancer cell multiplies. By promoting apoptosis, cancer cells can literally be turned off.
