Eating oyster mushroom may inhibit growth of fibroids —Study

Living with fibroids often means living with pain and anxiety. It makes sense to explore ways that might prevent this condition or at least lessen its symptoms. While there is little medical data that supports fibroids-shrinking foods, there is evidence that mushroom can help treat fibroid.

In a new study, researchers evaluated the therapeutic effects of water extract of mushroom on the growth of uterine fibroids in rats under laboratory conditions. It has a preventive effect on uterine fibroids at 200mg/kg body weight in the test animals.

According to the study, the administration of mushroom extract at 200mg/kg body weight could serve as a potent, inexpensive and effective remedy for uterine fibroid treatment and may offer possible alternatives to surgery.

Fibroids are almost always benign (not cancerous). Not all women with fibroids have symptoms. Women who do have symptoms often find fibroids hard to live with. Some have painful and heavy menstrual bleeding.

Fibroids also can put pressure on the bladder, causing frequent urination, or the rectum, causing rectal pressure. Should the fibroids get very large, they can cause the abdomen to enlarge, making a woman look pregnant.

Between 20 and 80 percent of women develop fibroids by the time they reach age 50. Fibroids are most common in women in their 40s and early 50s. Basically, age, having a family member with fibroids, being African, overweight or eating a lot of red meat can increase a woman’s risk of developing fibroids.

Mushrooms have been consumed since earliest history; the Romans perceived them as ‘food of the gods’. For centuries, Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health food elixir for life. They are considered of interest because of their medicinal properties.

Beyond just the nutrient that mushrooms offer, they have powerful health effects on balancing of hormones, adaptogenic properties supporting the body to deal with whatever stressors, toxins and endocrine disruptors present when consumed.

Super foods like mushrooms have roles to play in women’s health by their ability to regulate the immune system, raise the body’s resistance to stress and help the body to detoxify all harmful chemical substances which act as hormone disruptors.

Although various other species of mushrooms have shown potential for the treatment of uterine fibroids, there is paucity of scientific information on oyster mushrooms. Also, oyster mushrooms are found to contain flavonoids and it can help to rebalance the level of sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone).

Various reports of the side effects of the drugs used in the treatment of uterine fibroid, alongside the consequences of the removal of the uterine through surgery, instigated this study.

For the study, uterine fibroid was induced in rat models. The water extract of the mushroom was obtained by maceration and later dried to its powdery form. Forty eight female Wistar rats with a weight range of 180-200 g were randomly assigned into six groups of eight rats each.

After the treatment, the rats were euthanized, and blood withdrawn from them as well as their wombs for testing. The result showed that there was no difference in the uterine weight in fibroid induced rats when compared with the control.

With fibroid induction, blood level of progesterone increased in animals that had the mushroom extract whereas there was a reduction in blood level of the prolactin. No significant difference was observed in serum estradiol. Progesterone and estrogen are the major hormones responsible for the growth of uterine fibroids.

The researcher declared, “From this study, mushroom extract has a preventive effect on uterine fibroid at 200mg/kg body weight. Hence, administration of mushroom extract at this dose may serve as a potent and cost-effective therapy for the management of uterine fibroid.”

It was done by Eberechukwuka Grace Okah at the Department of Biochemistry in Kwara State University and was in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Biochemistry. It was published in 2022 and entitled, ‘Modulating Effect of Aqueous Extract of Oyster Mushroom on Diethylstilbestrol-Induced Rat Model of Uterine Fibroid’.

Previously, researchers reported African walnut leaf as a possible treatment for fibroids. They found it mitigated the effects of the induced fibroids in the test animals.

According to the study, the administration of African walnut leaves extract at 200mg/kg body weight could serve as a potent, inexpensive and effective remedy for uterine fibroid treatment and may offer possible alternatives to surgery.

Also, researchers reported that garlic and ginger reduce the levels of estrogen and progesterone linking this to their rich substances (flavonoids and alkaloids) which were reported to be responsible for this anti-uterine fibroid effect.

In the 2017 Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research, researchers said ginger has fibroid-preventing and fibroid-reducing properties at the level of the pituitary gland and the results of this study may contribute greatly to knowledge and may offer a non-invasive therapy for treating women with fibroids.

Diet choices alone can’t prevent or treat fibroids, but research suggests the foods we eat may influence fibroid risk and growth. They said individuals can stay at a healthy weight by eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats, which can be helpful to decrease or prevent fibroid growth. Citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges are among the most important plants for fibroid prevention.