Active Hexose Correlate Compound (AHCC), Immune Booster From Japan

Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) is a nutritional supplement produced from the mycelia of specific species of mushrooms, and should not be confused or used as a drug or medicine.

AHCC was originally designed to lower high-blood pressure, however researchers at Tokyo University found AHCC's influence upon the innate immune system highly beneficial and published the results in 1992, though not in the commonly indexed scientific literature. In this study, researchers found that AHCC significantly increased natural killer (NK) cell activity in cancer patients, and also enhanced the effects of killer T-cells, and cytokines (interferon, IL-12, TNF-alpha).

One cohort study published in 2003 reported improved survival associated with AHCC in primary liver cancer patients after surgical resection of the primary tumor. The clinical efficacy of AHCC is otherwise unknown as of March 2007. The proponents of AHCC claim enhancement of the immune system as an adjunct to conventional chemotherapy.

AHCC is an oligosaccharide, and is easily absorbed in the gut because it has a relatively tiny molecular size. In vitro, animal and human studies confirm, according to a presentation by H. Kitade to the XXXIIIrd Congress of the European Society for Surgical Research*(1998), that it can even prevent recurrence of liver cancer.

121 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) were divided into three groups. Those who took AHCC directly after surgery did much better than those who took it after recurrence or those on placebo.

A 1995 clinical trial reported that 3 grams of AHCC per day significantly lowered the level of tumor markers in prostate, ovarian, multiple myeloma, and breast cancer. The study showed complete remission in 6 of 11 patients and significant increases in NK cell activity in nine of the 11.

Other studies have been presented in such journals as International Journal of Immunology. This has helped establish the health benefits and safety of AHCC. This substance acts to stimulate cytokines, increase NK cell activity, and more.

According to the article in the Health Sciences Institute's newsletter, the University of California is testing the effects of AHCC in a large clinical study of prostate cancer patients.