Studies in humans show AHCC supplement:
Has protective effects on the liver in cases of liver injury, cirrhosis,
cancer, or
hepatitis.
Improves the prognosis in patients with liver
cancer however several more studies are needed before determining the role of
this supplement as a cancer treatment in humans.
Can enhance certain aspects of the immune system.
Physician Formulas, Inc., AHCC (Activated Hexose Correlated Compound), 500 mg,
60 Capsules
High Quality - buy AHCC supplement, 500 mg per pill
Active Hexose Correlated Compound is
considered a superfood supplement in Japan where it has been
researched extensively for its immune enhancement properties. According
to human and animal research this mushroom extract may increase natural
killer cell activity. It may also increase macrophage activity, enhance
cytokine production, and support the healthy functioning of the liver as
well as act as an antioxidant.
Suggested Use, dosage, how much to take: A dose of 1 or 2 AHCC capsules daily on an
empty stomach, or as recommended by your health care professional. For
general well-being, take 1 capsule a few times a week. Consult your
doctor if you plan to use this product for more than one or two months. Unfortunately
this is an expensive supplement and not everyone can afford
these pills.
Q. Is it okay to take this product as a preventive measure or
is it mainly used for specific medical conditions?
Flu vaccine
Nutr Res. 2013. Short-term supplementation with active hexose
correlated compound improves the antibody response to influenza B vaccine. Improved prognosis of postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma patients when
treated with functional foods: a prospective cohort study.
Chemotherapy
drug combination
Nutr Cancer. 2014. Reduction of adverse effects by a mushroom
product, active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) in patients with advanced
cancer during chemotherapy--the significance of the levels of HHV-6 DNA in
saliva as a surrogate biomarker during chemotherapy.
Alleviating effect of active hexose
correlated compound for anticancer drug-induced side effects in non-tumor-bearing
mice.
I've been taking AHCC pills for approximately 1 month now. In addition, I'm
on the chemo drug Xeloda and the drip Avastin. Have developed several fatty
tissue lumps that my doctor assures me is not cancer. Could it be a reaction to
the this mushroom product? Do you know of any conflicts with this supplement while undergoing
chemo?
Can AHCC be used with the chemo drug Abraxane? If you
know of any studies showing that the it doesn't counter act Abraxane
chemo I would appreciate it.
Immune system in
healthy volunteers
Results of a National Space Biomedical Research Institute study conducted at
Morehouse School of Medicine suggest that oral administration of Active Hexose
Correlated Compound can increase resistance to infection.
The samples of this product used in this study were provided by Quality of Life Labs,
Purchase, New York. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
partially supported this work.
“Active Hexose Correlated Compound Enhances Resistance to Klebsiella pneumoniae: Infection in Mice
in the Hindlimb-Unloading Model of Space Flight Conditions,” 2003, Journal of Applied Physiology.
Lymphoma
Melanoma
Pancreatic cancer
Nutr Cancer. 2016.
Alleviating Effect of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) on
Chemotherapy-Related Adverse Events in Patients with Unresectable Pancreatic
Ductal Adenocarcinoma. The patients in the AHCC group ingested 6.0 g of AHCC for
2 months. Hematological and nonhematological toxicity was compared between the
AHCC and control groups. The C-reactive protein (CRP) elevation and albumin
decline of the AHCC group were significantly suppressed as compared to the
control group during the gemcitabine treatment administration. AHCC intake can
be effective in reducing the adverse events associated with chemotherapy and may
contribute to maintaining the quality of life of patients with Pancreatic Ductal
Adenocarcinoma during gemcitabine administration.
Prostate cancer
Dosage and dose
Side effects, risk, safety,
adverse events, danger, caution
Drug, medication interactions
Q. My questions is the
interaction of AHCC while taking Atenolol 25mg, blood pressure medication. Per
one clinical paper discussing AHCC, it says: AHCC did not inhibit CYP450
activity in one study; however, AHCC is a substrate and inducer of CYP450 2D6.
Based on this study, it has the potential for drug-drug interactions involving
agents metabolized via CYP450 2D6 (eg, doxorubicin, ondansetron). Adverse drug
reactions may potentially occur in patients taking psychiatric medications from
the following drug classes: tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors, or antipsychotics. Also monitor patients taking pain
medications (eg, tramadol) and blood pressure medications, including
beta-blockers, for potential adverse reactions.Can you tell me how I would be
affected while taking the AHCC, 4 pills a day, with my medication. I am 70 years
old female survivor of HER2 breast cancer. Surgery done in 2002.
Suppliers and manufacturers
Questions
I recently become quite interested in medicinal mushrooms. In
my early studies of natural medicine I often learned things from your website. I
have been reading about AHCC as a promising adjunct to cancer therapy. When I
checked your site, I noticed a lot of interest from your readers. One thing I
did was to check several chemotherapy drugs to see if they shared the same
metabolic pathway as the one used by AHCC. So far, I have found none. However,
Benadryl, which may be used to prevent an allergic reaction... does it share the
same pathway? I wonder if you might comment on any problems or precautions your
readers might consider if you think this may be necessary.
A. Until we learn more, I suggest only taking it for a specific
medical use. Also, it is too expensive to take it daily as a preventive.
High Quality products formulated by a medical
doctor
onsider the benefits of highly popular all natural products. These include
Mind Power Rx
for better mental focus, concentration, and mood>
Studies in mice show AHCC supplement:
Enhances resistance to infection and natural killer cell activity
Protects the liver from injury induced by toxic or anti
cancer agents.
AHCC may have potential as an
immune enhancing agent in the therapy of opportunistic
infections.
Reduces breast cancer metastasis in mice when combined with chemotherapy agents.
May even have antioxidant properties.
Could reduce side effects of
chemotherapy drugs.
Supplementation with active hexose correlated
compound increases the innate immune response of young mice to primary
influenza infection.
J Nutrition. 2006;. Department of
Bioscience and Biotechnology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA,
In this study, young mice were supplemented with 1 gram AHCC / (kilogram body
weight x day) for 1 wk prior to and throughout infection with influenza A (H1N1,
PR8). Our data suggest that supplementation boosts
natural killer
activity, improves survival, and reduces the severity of influenza infection in
young mice.
Cancer of the liver research
Prognostic improvement of patients with advanced
liver cancer after active hexose correlated compound treatment.
Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 2006.
A prospective study was performed with 44 patients
with histologically confirmed liver cancer. Patients in the treated-group had a significantly prolonged
survival when compared to the control group. Quality of life in terms of mental
stability, general physical health status
were improved after 3 months of treatment.
J Hepatology 2002.
A total of 269 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed
liver cancer were studied. All of the patients underwent resection of a
liver tumor. Of the 269 patients, 113
received AHCC orally after undergoing curative surgery. The treatment group had a
significantly longer no recurrence period and an increased overall survival rate when compared to the control group.
The effect of active
hexose correlated compound in modulating cytosine arabinoside-induced
hair loss, and 6-mercaptopurine- and methotrexate-induced liver injury
in rodents.
Cancer Epidemiology. 2009.
Hair loss was caused by cytosine arabinoside and modulation of liver injury was caused by single doses 6-mercaptopurine plus methotrexate. Co-administration of AHCC significantly
reduced the side effects associated with arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate.
J Exp Ther Oncology. Amino Up
Chemical Co., Ltd., Shin-ei, Kiyota, Sapporo, Japan.
The role in alleviating the side effects induced by
several other anticancer drugs was explored in non-tumor-bearing mice
receiving monotherapy with paclitaxel, or multi-drug chemotherapy
with paclitaxel plus cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5FU) plus irinotecan, cisplatin plus 5FU,
or doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide. The death rate was 20 to 30 percent in all treatment
groups except paclitaxel + cisplatin, and supplementation with AHCC
greatly reduced or eliminated mortality. AHCC can be
beneficial for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
We have not had feedback thus far that it is
involved in fatty acid formation, then again there is still a lot to be learned
about natural supplements and their full positive and negative effects. There
are so many drug combinations and interactions and it is very difficult to know
what interactions AHCC may have with chemotherapy drugs, it would take many
studies for prolonged periods.
I am not aware of any such studies as of 2018.
Immunological effect of active hexose correlated compound in healthy
volunteers: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Nutr Cancer. 2008.
Twenty-one healthy volunteers
were randomized to receive placebo or AHCC at 3 g/day for 4 weeks. The treatment
group had a significantly higher number of total dendritic cells compared to
that at baseline and values from control subjects. No significant differences in PHA, NK cell activity, and cytokine
production were found between groups.
I just love your website because it's full of honest information. Is it okay for a person
with low grade B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Sjogren's syndrome to take
the AHCC supplement? This person also has low WBC count and she is taking 5 mg
of Prednisone every day. I also want to mention that this individual underwent
the Rituxan treatment once a week for 4 weeks but her WBC count is still low
(2.0).
It is difficult
to predict how an individual's immune system will respond to AHCC use,
particularly if prednisone, an immune system suppressant, is used.
Active hexose correlated compound enhances
tumor surveillance through regulating both innate and adaptive immune responses.
Cancer Immunol Immunotherapy. 2006.
Mice were orally administered AHCC or water, followed by tumor cell inoculation.
Compared to pure water-treated mice, the natural supplement treatment significantly delayed tumor
development after inoculation of either melanoma cell line B16F0 or lymphoma
cell line EL4.
There is some early research supporting its use in
pancreatic cancer.
We have not seen research studies with prostate
cancer and AHCC so we don't know if it is effective.
Many of the studies in humans have used dosages of AHCC supplement of about 3 grams a day.
The ideal dosage for cancer prevention or treatment or other conditions for long term use is still
being evaluated.
I have not come across major AHCC side effects reported in medical journals as of 2018.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2017. Evaluation of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC)
in Combination With Anticancer Hormones in Orthotopic Breast Cancer Models. To
determine the impact on antitumor activity when active hexose correlated
compound (AHCC) in combination with anticancer hormonal agents in orthotopic
mouse models of human estrogen receptor positive breast cancer and evaluate
impact of AHCC on aromatase activity. AHCC did not change the activity of
tamoxifen. It may have some interaction with letrozole in patients with COMT
variant genotype. AHCC had cytotoxicity that warrents additional studies to
evaluate its potential role for consolidation/prevention of breast cancer.
A. I am not aware of a specific study evaluating the interactions
between AHCC and beta blockers.
Summary and review,
recommendations
More research with AHCC and cancer is needed before making any firm recommendations
on effectiveness, dosage, frequency and length of use, interactions with
radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and the conditions for which this
interesting compound can be useful. Thus far much of the AHCC and cancer research looks
promising but few have been done in humans.
There are various forms of this supplement, Immpower and
Kinoko AHCC. Which form is best?
There are several products available, including
ImmPower made by American Biosciences. According to the manufacturer, ImmPower
is Active Hexose Correlated Compound developed by combining several
species of mushrooms used in traditional Japanese healing to make one, extremely
powerful, hybridized mushroom. This hybridized mushroom is grown in a liquid
medium containing rice bran and enzymatically modified to be readily absorbable. Kinoko AHCC is made by Quality of Life Labs. Several
other companies private label it including Source Naturals and NOW Foods. It
appears, to the best of my knowledge, that all brands use the same raw material, the only things that may
differ
are amounts and what they may or may not combine it with. AHCC is a trademarked
product and everyone who sells it buys
from the same raw material supplier.
Q. I would like to ask your expertise with regards to the use of AHCC and
Collagen supplements when someone has Hashimoto's and Reynaud's. I have both for
about 30 years. Would either cause the immune system to go in overdrive and have
negative impacts? I read an article from you regarding echinacea herb and I
understood your findings did not show a negative impact with those studies. I
have taken it before and have never had any negative impact. I very much
understand everyone is different so no study or findings are absolute. I don't
take any medications except for my thyroid medication. I do take a number of
vitamins and have for years. When not well I take homeopathic medications, herbs
and do Accupuncture. I very much appreciate your insight as I know others with
autoimmune diseases and they would be interested in your opinion regarding my
query about AHCC more importantly but also for Collagen.
A. There just aren't enough studies on these topics and
interactions to have an opinion with any amount of certainty.
A. I have not seen any studies that Benadryl would help or hinder
the use of this natural product.