Compound or practice · Supplement
AHCC
A cultured-mushroom immune extract with a genuinely interesting HPV-clearance signal.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade C — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Persistent HPV clearanceEvidence grade C
Early, promising
Moderatelow
- Immune / cancer-therapy supportEvidence grade C
Adjunct
Smalllow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Persistent HPV clearance (grade C); Immune / cancer-therapy support (grade C).
The evidence in words
What it is
AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) is a patented, cultured shiitake-mycelia extract standardized to alpha-glucans, used for immune support.
How it works
Its alpha-glucans stimulate innate immunity — NK-cell and dendritic-cell activity — enhancing antiviral responses.
What the evidence shows
Small clinical studies (including a placebo-controlled trial) suggest AHCC can help clear persistent high-risk HPV infections, and it's studied as a supportive agent during cancer therapy. Evidence is early and largely from one research group, but the HPV signal is notable.
Safety & interactions
Generally well tolerated; mild GI effects. As an immune stimulant, caution with immunosuppressants/autoimmunity.
Bottom line
An immune-active mushroom extract with a promising (if preliminary) HPV-clearance result — worth knowing about, still needing larger independent trials.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- AHCC for Immune / cancer-therapy supportEvidence grade C — AdjunctEvidence grade C
- AHCC for Persistent HPV clearanceEvidence grade C — Early, promisingEvidence grade C
- AHCC: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally well tolerated; mild GI effects. As an immune stimulant, caution with immunosuppressants/autoimmunity.Evidence grade C
- MaitakeA culinary-medicinal mushroom with beta-glucan immune activity and early glucose signals.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.