Tibetan fungus could help fight liver cancer, academy tests show

Tests have shown that a chemical compound extracted from white lingzhi mushrooms, which are unique to the Tibet autonomous region, has anti-cancer qualities, according to the region’s Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The name lingzhi translates as “spiritual potency”, and the mushroom is regarded in China as the “medicine of kings”.

This year, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology extracted GL22, a chemical compound that helps produce steroids.

Clinical trials on mice have shown that GL22 can inhibit the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, according to the regional academy.

The mushroom grows only in high-altitude areas of Tibet, including in Lhasa, Nyingchi, Shannan and Xigaze.