Water-soluble Chaga mushroom extract

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus L.) contains a unique set of polysaccharides, polyphenols and beta-glucans. Also, it contains a large amount of flavonoids, alkaloids, and organic acids. It is rich in mineral nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, manganese and zinc.

Chaga tea has a long history of use among the peoples of Siberia as a healthy drink. Research and documentation of Chaga health benefits started in earnest in Russia (FSU) in 1950-ies. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR made great efforts to study the health properties of Chaga and drinks made from it. This research has been led by the Botanical Institute of the USSR Academy of Science and with the participation of a Leningrad Medical Institute clinic. A detailed account of this research was published in 1959. The book gives a detailed description of the biology and chemical composition of Chaga, as well as clinical test results of experimental remedies, as well as scientific data on the test participants. Since then, there has been a lot of literature on the matter in Russia.

Chaga became famous internationally after the publication of the novel "Cancer Ward" by a Nobel prize winner Solzhenitsyn, which describes the healing properties of Chaga mushroom. Nevertheless, it has been gaining recognition in the West reasonably recently. One of the significant works that introduced this mushroom to the general public in the USA was a book by David Wolfe, “Chaga: King of Medicinal Mushroom.” It was published in 2012 and was a great introduction to basic information, mushroom properties, and recipes for teas, soups, and other food products.

Another account was a book by Steven Spacil, published in 2017 and called “Chaga Mushroom and Coffee: The powerful health facts of Chaga mushroom.”. Though small, this book inspired a bit more interest. Actually, coffee has been said to be one of the greatest combinations with the mushroom. There is a lot of information and recipes about it on the Web. One of the sites that provide good guidance is “The Lost Herbs” (https://thelostherbs.com/).

To keep the public interested, another book about Chaga was published in 2018 by Suzanne Sanders. Her book provided more evidence about Chaga benefits. Suzanne Sanders had been diagnosed with the same type of cancer her mother died of when she was 56 years old. Mrs. Sanders was fifty-five years old and was diagnosed with exactly the same disease. So, she describes how she discovered this “diamond of the forest” mushroom and incorporated it into her healing regimen. Seven years after the initial diagnosis, Mrs. Sanders published her book to share her experience with interested readers. The book is over 100 pages but surely would be a captivating read.

In 2020 another book by Daniels Ross was published. Called “Everything about Chaga Mushroom,” it provides concise and helpful material about this remarkable mushroom. Mr. Daniels Ross signs his books with his Ph.D. title and is a prolific writer on subjects about health through proper diets. He has published and sold a great many books on Amazon, so everyone can find an example there. And Dr. Ross focus on herbal remedies will be readily apparent once you check his books. He has also published books about some Japanese mushrooms.
The year 2021 was marked by several books about Chaga. One book was called “Secrets of Cultivating Chaga Mushroom” by Eric Goldinger. The author gives a unique perspective compared to other books as he tries to explore the topic of cultivation. Chaga mushroom is famous for being very rare and hard to find, so an attempt to produce the mushroom in a regular and controlled fashion deserves fans’ attention. Another was “A Beginner's Guide to Chaga Mushroom” by Biden Moore. This book covers all major topics about this rare and remarkable fungus product.
Finally, there was an inquisitive book called "Natural Cures from Wild Tree Resins" by Cass Ingram. Dr. Ingram is a rather famous media person in the USA. He published more than 20 books and appeared on numerous radio and TV programs, promoting herbs, plant-based diets for health, etc. So, getting a solid endorsement from Dr. Ingram significantly boosts public awareness.

Also, the topic has been gaining recognition even in business media and the business community. Recently Bloomberg published an article called “Mushrooms as Medicine? Supplement Makers Promise Major Health Benefits” by Aja Mangum. The article presented that some mushrooms present a great business opportunity based on their health benefits. So, a market research company Technavio once released a report about the market potential for Chaga-based products. The report estimated that the market could grow to 12 billion USD by 2024.

Chaga has been gaining recognition in Japan as well. One of the first accounts about Chaga was a booklet published by Hoshizaki Tomei in 1998. Among the most famous and detailed books about Chaga in Japan is “Chaga no Zenbo (full picture of Chaga)” by Wada Masahiro, published in 2004. The book describes in detail full production cycle from harvesting to chaga product. Also, it provide a detailed description of benefits, based on real life stories and examples. Another informative booklet, republished many times since the first edition in 2009, was “Chaga de kenkou ni naru (Get healthy with Chaga)” by Yamaguchi Mutsuo, a medical doctor managing his own clinic. The booklet gives a rather detailed explanation of key nutrients that Chaga contains and how these nutrients contribute to better health. There are also many articles about Chaga and its benefits in public magazines and scientific journals. However, we do not have enough space to mention even a small part of these publications here.

Concluding the review of the literature about Chaga made above, we can say that one of the main qualities of Chaga is its safety. It has been proven by the centuries-old history of its use in the diet of the peoples of Siberia and numerous clinical studies on toxicity. 

Chaga extract that we offer to our clients is manufactured at the Baikal Herbs Ltd. facilities in the town of Baikalsk. It is a company with over 30-year history and is a pioneer of the dry Chaga extract market. It owns the first patents for the production of dry Chaga extract. Thanks to this company, dry Chaga extract has become a world-famous product and is sold worldwide in health stores. The company pays a lot of attention to science, and constantly works to improve the quality of its products. Currently, Chaga products are being sold in 22 countries around the world.

Chaga mushrooms are harvested in the ecologically clean area of lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and meet the highest quality requirements for Chaga mushrooms.