About
Fomitopsis pinicola, commonly known as the Red Belted Conk, is a bracket fungus that grows on coniferous trees in North America and Europe. It is characterized by its kidney-shaped or semicircular cap with a distinctive red-brown belt-like band around the edge. This mushroom is a saprophyte, meaning it feeds on decaying wood. Fomitopsis pinicola has been used in traditional medicine for its potential health benefits, including immune system support and anti-inflammatory properties. While not typically consumed as a food source, it is valued for its medicinal properties in various forms of herbal medicine.
Physical Characteristics
Caps:
The cap of Fomitopsis pinicola is typically kidney-shaped or semicircular, with a reddish-brown to dark brown coloration. It can grow up to 20 cm in diameter.
Gills:
This mushroom does not have gills as it is a polypore fungus.
Helps With
Immune system support
Fomitopsis pinicola is believed to have immune-boosting properties that can help support overall health.
Anti inflammatory effects
Some studies suggest that compounds in Fomitopsis pinicola may have anti-inflammatory effects, potentially aiding in the management of inflammatory conditions.
Medicinal Chemistry
Similar Species
Species: Fomitopsis betulina
Edibility: Fomitopsis betulina is also not recommended for consumption.
Key Differences: Fomitopsis betulina has a white to light brown cap without the red belt.
Species: Fomitopsis betulina
Edibility: Fomitopsis betulina is also not recommended for consumption.
Nutrition Facts ()
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References
COVID, Mushrooms, & Immune Modulators
Fortified Mycelium of Fomitopsis officinalis (Agaricomycetes) as a Source of Biologically Active Substances Effective in the Prevention of Civilization Diseases
Trials Test Mushrooms and Herbs as Anti–COVID-19 Agents
Nineteenth Century Shaman Grave Guardians are Carved Fomitopsis Officinalis Sporophores
Purification and fermentation characteristics of exopolysaccharide from Fomitopsis castaneus Imaz
Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activities and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Property from Mycelium Culture Extracts
Chlorinated coumarins from the polypore mushroom Fomitopsis officinalis and their activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Antiviral activity of polyporoid mushrooms (higher Basidiomycetes) from Altai Mountains (Russia)
Antipox Properties of Fomitopsis officinalis (Vill.: Fr.) Bond. et Singer (Agarikon) from the Pacific Northwest of North America
Gordon Saxe & Paul Stamets, DSci talk on COVID, Mushrooms, and Immune Modulators at the GW Medicinal Fungi Conference.
2023
Fomitopsis officinalis is a popular species of therapeutic arboreal mushroom with a documented history of use in traditional European and Asian medicine. It was chosen as a research material not only due to its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immunostimulating properties but also because it is endangered in Poland.
2021
The COVID-19 pandemic’s early days, integrative medicine specialists Gordon Saxe, MD, PhD, MPH, and Andrew Shubov, MD, watched in frustration as desperate patients infected with the novel coronavirus tried one ineffective remedy after another. “People were taking increasingly toxic drugs, and nothing was working,” Shubov said in an interview.
2021
Shaman Grave Guardians are Carved Fomitopsis Officinalis Sporophores. Utility of Spore Length/Width Ratio in Separating Geopora Cooperi.
2018
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are the end products of carbohydrate fermentation in the gut, mainly contribute to energy metabolism in mammals. The amount of SCFAs produced during fermentation is an important parameter that characterizes the fermentation capacity of a system. This paper reports on the fermentation characteristics of exopolysaccharides (EPS) isolated from Fomitopsis castaneus Imaz, a wood-rot fungal species. We isolated and purified the main EPS fraction by freeze drying and DEAE-Sepharose fast flow chromatography.
2017
Since mushrooms have many bioactive components, they have been used as components in folk medicine. Because mycelium has an advantage when it comes to large-scale production, this study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant properties and anti-tyrosinase activity from 55 mycelia in culture media. Relatively high 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging capacity was detected from the ethanol extract of culture media including mycelium (EECiM) of Morchella esculenta var. esculenta (MEVE), Auricularia polytricha (APO), Tremella aurantia (TAU), Volvariella bombycina (VBO), and Oudemansiella sp. (Osp), which also showed strong reducing power and inhibitory activity in relation to the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value.
2015
An EtOH extract of the polypore mushroom Fomitopsis officinalis afforded two new naturally occurring chlorinated coumarins, which were identified as the previously synthesized compounds 6-chloro-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one (1) and ethyl 6-chloro-2-oxo-4- phenyl-2H-chromen-3-carboxylate (2). The structures of the two isolates were deduced by abinitio spectroscopic methods and confirmed by chemical synthesis. In addition, an analogue of each was synthesized as 7-chloro-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one (3) and ethyl 7-chloro-2-oxo-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-3-carboxylate (4).
2013
Antiviral activity against type A influenza virus of birds A/chicken/Kurgan/05/2005 (H5N1) and humans A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) was investigated for aqueous extracts from mycelium of 11 basidial fungi species collected in the Altai Mountains (Altai Republic, Russia). The most perspective strains for producing antiviral medicines are studied strains Daedaleopsis confragosa, Datronia mollis, Ischnoderma benzoinum, Trametes gibbosa, T. versicolor, Laricifomes officinalis, and Lenzites betulina.
2012
Polypore mushrooms have been used medicinally for thousands of years. The Greek physician Dioscorides first described the use of Fomitopsis officinalis, a wood conk (or agarikon), as a treatment against consumption in 65 AD. Its use as a topical anti-inflammatory agent also spans millennia. Other wood conks such as Ganoderma lucidum (Ling Chi or Reishi) have had a similarly long history of use in Asia. In the past 20 years, wood conks continue to be carefully explored for their immunomodulating and anticancer properties.
2005