KUALA LUMPUR, 3 SEPTEMBER 2021 – The researchers from Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University found that tiger milk mushrooms can help to strengthen the human respiratory system based on their latest research.

Assistant Professor of School of Healthy Aging, Medical Aesthetics and Regenerative Medicine, Dr Tan Chung Keat said that the research conducted with Nexus Wise Sdn Bhd was the first to be conducted on humans.

“Despite numerous lab works have been conducted previously to prove the beneficial effect of TMM, but no one has ever gone this far to human trial. Our study is the first human clinical trial, not just locally, but also around the world.

“This research aimed to determine the effect of tiger milk mushroom (TMM), or its scientific name, Lignosus rhinocerus, as supplementation for respiratory health. This is an open-label prospective study that recruited 50 healthy human subjects, all of them have underwent 3 months of TMM supplementation to observe the changes in respiratory health.

“Our study has proven that 3 months of TMM supplementation is sufficient enough to trigger significant improvement over the immunity, as well as boosting up the antioxidant capacity of our respiratory system, "he said.

Dr Tan who specialises in phytochemistry, a branch of chemistry focusing on the study of phytochemicals derived from plants, said that the TMM supplementation also help to improve the functions of the lungs and reduce respiratory symptoms such as sinusitis, nasal congestion, runny nose, cough and shortness of breath.

“This research helps the community to have a better understanding on how does the TMM work, ascertain its efficacy in improving our respiratory immunity and clear the worries on the potential side effects of TMM supplementation. No side effect was being observed in our study, neither in any previous studies.

He also added, supplements such as TMM can definitely help to boost up our immunity and provide extra protection to the body especially in a world facing coronavirus that attacks the human respiratory system.

“Previous studies conducted in United States, Singapore and France have shown that boosted immunity, especially the enhanced production of a special antibody called immunoglobulin A in respiratory system can significantly reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. And our study has shown that TMM supplementation can significantly enhance the production of the said antibody,” he expressed.

Additionally, the anti-inflammatory agents found in TMM also have the potential to be beneficial in treating chronic respiratory diseases such as sinusitis and asthma.

According to Dr Tan, TMM has been used by the indigenous communities in Southeast Asia and certain areas in China and Australia for a long time as a health tonic to treat cough, asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, fever, food poisoning, wounds, digestion, and gastritis.

“Despite TMM has long been used by the local communities, but barely anyone has a good understanding about how it works, is it really effective in treating the sickness, or is there any side effect of long term consumption. That is the reason why we want to conduct this research.

"To understand the mechanism behinds the treatment, to understand the safety for consumption, as well as to validate the previous lab work findings," he said.

Nexus Wise studies, examines, researches, and applies the evolution of science to ensure the superiority and functional benefits of tiger milk mushrooms are well-preserved during the process of supplement’s production.

The findings from this study, the Effect of tiger milk mushroom (Lignosus rhinocerus) supplementation on respiratory health, immunity, and antioxidant status: an open-label prospective study is published and freely accessible to the public in Scientific Reports, the 6th most-cited journal in the world https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91256-6