Fungus Betulinus (Chaga)

Product Description

~~Chaga is traditionally grated into a fine powder and used to brew a beverage resembling coffee or tea. However, caution is warranted with chronic use due to the extremely high concentrations of oxalates in chaga. Three extraction processes may be used.

Hot water extraction is one of the most common preparations. A decoction is created by simmering pieces of the chaga in numerous quarts of water until the water is reduced and the remaining liquid contains a portion of the chaga's concentrated water-soluble compounds. Such preparations, produced in China and Japan, are exported worldwide. The -D-glucans may have a content of approximately *5% in a pure extract. If chaga tea is prepared at home, the chaga chunks can be reused multiple times.

Ethanol or methanol extraction isolates the water-insoluble components, betulinic acid, betulin and the phytosterols. This extraction process is in general used as a second step after hot-water extraction, since ethanol alone will not break down chitin effectively—heat is essential.

Fermentation is the most time-consuming and most expensive. Because fermentation methods are not standardized (many types of bacteria and fungi can be used in the process), the outcome is also not standardized.