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Oyster mushroom glucans prevent virus infections
A supplement containing beta-glucans from oyster mushrooms plus vitamin C protects children with a malfunctioning immune system against cold and flu viruses. This is evident from a study published in 2013 by Slovak immunologists in International Immunopharmacology.
Study
The researchers gave 175 children aged 2-10, who had had a cold or flu at least 3-5 times in the past year, a placebo or a supplement with vitamin C plus oyster mushrooms beta-glucans.
The children received 10 milligrams of vitamin C and 10 milligrams of beta-glucans for every 5 kilos of body weight. The children took the supplements in the morning. The experiment lasted 6 months.
Sponsor
The product that the researchers used was Immunoglukan P4H. The producer of Immunoglukan P4H, Pleuran Ltd, paid for the investigation. [imunoglukan.com] The founders of Pleuran Ltd derived the name of their company from pleuran, the name of the oyster mushroom extract they developed and patented.
The placebo that the researchers used did not contain glucans, but did contain vitamin C.
Results
In the placebo group, 21 percent of children remained disease-free during the experiment. In the experimental group, that was 36 percent.
Doctors, who examined the children during the trial, reported that the children in the experimental group were significantly less often sick than the children in the placebo group. The doctors did not know which children received a supplement and which children received a placebo.
Conclusion
"The complex immunomodulatory activity of pleuran promotes the physiologicalmaturation of the immune system in preschool children without any risk of over-stimulation of the maturating immune response and without the development of immunopathological conditions", write the researchers. "Furthermore, our study supports the use of pleuran in the prevention of respiratory infections."
"The complex immunomodulatory activity of pleuran promotes the physiologicalmaturation of the immune system in preschool children without any risk of over-stimulation of the maturating immune response and without the development of immunopathological conditions."
"The combination of pleuran and vitamin C may have a beneficial effect on the prevention of respiratory tract infections and on the immunomodulatory effect. This possible synergic effect merits further investigation."
Source:
Int Immunopharmacol. 2013;15(2):395-99.
More:
Daily portion of oyster mushrooms lowers glucose levels and improves cholesterol 25.01.2018
Oyster mushrooms keep athletes disease free 12.12.2013
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