AHCC: Powerful Immune Support

This concentrated blend of bioactive compounds harnesses the power of medicinal mushrooms, in a natural supplement with proven benefits.

Widely recognized for their immunosupportive properties, shiitakes and other mushrooms have been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine to promote health and vitality and enhance longevity. AHCC (active hexose correlated compound) harnesses the power of mushrooms in a potent supplement with far-reaching benefits for balanced immunity, liver support, resistance to microbial infection, cancer prevention and treatment, and a range of promising therapeutic applications.

“AHCC is a standardized extract of cultured mycelia from specially cultivated shiitake mushrooms, fermented in rice bran and subjected to enzymatic reaction,” says Neil Edward Levin, CCN, DANLA, Senior Nutrition Education Manager for NOW Health Group and Protocol for Life Balance. “Developed in Japan in the late 1980s, this proprietary compound largely consists of alpha-glucan components, which makes it distinct from the typical beta-glucan components in most mushroom extracts.”

The concentrated blend of bioactive compounds in AHCC appear to affect innate and adaptive immune responses and are thought to be responsible for its effects on the immune system.^{1, 2}  “In a unique type of immune modulation, AHCC has been shown to downregulate IFN-beta levels to stimulate the release of IFN-gamma and T lymphocytes,” Levin says. “AHCC has also shown enhanced activation of antigen CD4 + and CD 8 + T cells, as well as an increase in NK cells, plus a significant increase in T lymphocytes. In animal models, AHCC Increases spleen activity and increases nitric oxide and cytokine production in peritoneal cells. There is also evidence that AHCC can increase production of IL-12 and TNF-alpha.”

Studies also point to AHCC’s antioxidant properties, with research demonstrating its potential to enhance the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, reduce oxidative stress and protect cells from damage. ^{3, 4, 5, 6, 7} What the science shows:

Cancer protection, therapy and treatment. Dozens of compelling studies highlight AHCC’s promising anticancer properties and its ability to diminish adverse effects in patients undergoing chemotherapy, inhibit the malignant progression of certain cancer cells, prevent recurrence and improve prognosis, outcomes and survival rates.^{8, 9, 10}

In animal studies, AHCC is linked with delayed tumor development, prolonged survival and enhanced effects of chemotherapy drugs. In human trials, AHCC increased the number and function of dendritic cells and boost CD8-positive T cells during chemotherapy, signifying an immune response activation that could potentially heighten the body’s ability to fight cancer cells.^{11, 12, 13, 14}

AHCC has also been shown to reduce toxicities associated with cancer treatments and magnify their efficacy. A review of women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy found that AHCC decreased the number of neutrophil-related events  and the need for G-CSF, with implications for greater treatment tolerability and better outcomes. In other studies of patients undergoing chemotherapy, AHCC was linked to lower toxicities, significantly fewer adverse events and taste disorders and higher quality of life scores. Additionally, two human studies suggest AHCC may improve outcomes in liver cancer patients, extending time to recurrence and increasing overall survival, compared to those who did not receive AHCC. ^{15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20}

Other research supports the likely therapeutic benefits of combined AHCC and chemotherapy treatment, suggesting AHCC can boost the efficacy and potentiate the anti-tumor effects of chemotherapy drugs. AHCC may have cytotoxic actions of its own, with evidence pointing to its ability to trigger immune response, induce apoptotic pathway in cancer cells and exhibit anticancer activity.^{21, 22, 23, 24}

Liver function and protection.  AHCC demonstrates promise in supporting liver health and improving its function, especially in patients with cirrhosis, alcohol-related liver disease and liver cancer. Its liver-protective properties are due in part to enhanced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell immune responses, which play a significant role in liver inflammation, disease and cancers. The beneficial effects of AHCC on liver function are also thought to be via regulation of nitric oxide production. In several studies, AHCC inhibited the induction of iNOS, decreasing NO production in hepatocytes. Other research suggests AHCC acts as a powerful antioxidant to reduce the risk of liver disorders related to oxidative stress.^{25, 26}

For overall liver health and protection, AHCC supplementation has been shown to improve levels of liver enzymes and inflammatory cytokines in patients with alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation, suppress oxidative stress, and alleviating symptoms in liver disease patients, with multiple studies highlighting its therapeutic potential for various liver injuries and conditions.^{27, 28, 29, 30}

In trials of patients with liver cancer, AHCC improved post-operative prognosis, delayed the gradual decline of physiological status, lengthened time to recurrence period and significantly increased quality of life and survival rate. Other research suggests AHCC could reverse liver injury and myelosuppression and minimize side effects associated with chemotherapy. Additionally, in some studies the combination of AHCC and common chemotherapy drugs produced a more potent antitumor actions and caused more severe apoptosis in tumor tissue than chemotherapy treatment alone.^{31, 32, 33}

Enhanced resistance to infections.  AHCC is known to activate immune response and boost  the body’s defense against microbial infections, hampering the infectious processes, decreasing infection risk and alleviating symptoms of existing infections.  In human and animal research, AHCC was effective against a variety of bacteria, including P. aeruginosa, chlamydia trachomatis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, increasing resistance to infection and slowing bacterial growth and motility.  AHCC also improves immune response to Candida albicans and a broad range of viral infections, including avian flu, West Nile, influenza and high-risk HPV. In human trials, AHCC demonstrated the ability to eliminate persistent HPV infections, with one study showing 66.7 percent of patients had confirmed high-risk HPV clearance after six months of AHCC treatment. Now, emerging evidence hints at a promising role for AHCC in enhancing resistance to mild and severe COVID-19 infection.^{34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44}

Stress, mental health and depression. AHCC may increase resilience to stress, support physiological response to mental stress, influence nervous system activity, promote sleep and ease symptoms of chronic stress, including fatigue and depression.  In people experiencing chronic mental stress, AHCC encouraged initiation and maintenance of sleep and faster recovery from fatigue, compared to placebo. Additionally, AHCC shows potential for improving stress-associated immunosuppression and mental symptoms in patients with depression. As depression and diverse psychiatric disorders are linked with oxidative stress and significantly lower plasma concentrations of antioxidants, AHCC’s antioxidant properties may alleviate symptoms of depression induced by oxidative stress. Depression and some mental illness symptoms are thought to be related to impaired NK cell function, and AHCC’s ability to influence NK cells plays a central role.^{45, 46, 47}

Healthy aging and disease prevention. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune-modulating properties of AHCC are involved in improving cell function and reducing the risk of chronic conditions and age-related diseases. Oxidative stress is known to be a primary contributor to the aging process and age-related degenerative conditions. By protecting against oxidative stress-induced disorders, AHCC offers a promising therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, metabolic disorders, and neurogenerative disease like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, associated with oxidative stress-induced damage to neurons and brain tissues.^{48, 49}

References

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