AHCC Staves Off Infection in Immunocompromised Mice

AHCC Staves Off Infection in Immunocompromised Mice

SAPPORO, Japan--Active Hexose Correlated Compound(AHCC), a hybridization of medicinal mushrooms, was shown in animal researchto protect against bacterial infection in the presence of a weakened immunesystem, according to Amino Up Chemical, which provided the AHCC for the studyand owns the trademark on the compound. The study, which was conducted byresearchers at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, was published in anApril 11 online edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology (http://jap.physiology.org)and is scheduled for future publication in a print edition.

In mice, researchers simulated space travel, which is known toalter the immune system and may impair a body's ability to fight off infectionand abnormal cells. All mice were infected with the bacteria Klebsiellapneumoniae, which commonly affects people with compromised immune systems. Themice treated with AHCC prior to and during bacterial infection showed a strongerimmune response compared to control mice.

"This is the first time that AHCC has been used in thistype of infection study," said Gerald Sonnenfeld, Ph.D., one of the studyauthors. "It suggests that AHCC should also continue to be tested in humansand other models, as it might protect people from infections. This would have tobe documented by human studies."

Amino Up also announced that previous research on AHCC out ofJapanese and American universities has demonstrated the compound supports ahealthy immune response by activating several components of the human immunesystem, including natural killer cells, as well as promoting the production ofcytokines.