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The Supplement Research Compendium
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Agaricus blazei

Agaricus subrufescens

Beta-glucan mushroom studied as an immune and metabolic adjunct.

Preliminary evidence 🛡️Gut & Immune

✚ Updated · How we grade evidence

Evidence tier
Preliminary
Research weight
Citations
9 verified / 9
Classification
Gut & Immune
❝
What the evidence says. Graded preliminary: several small RCTs report changes in immune markers, insulin resistance and gut cytokines, but trials are short, single-product, and mostly measure lab surrogates rather than hard clinical outcomes — and rare but fatal liver injury has been reported. (Preliminary evidence: Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive.)

What is Agaricus blazei?

Agaricus blazei (Agaricus subrufescens) is a gut and immune supplement used for immune modulation. NutriDex grades the human evidence as Preliminary. Agaricus blazei (now classified as Agaricus subrufescens) is a Brazilian medicinal mushroom rich in beta-glucans, marketed for immune and anticancer support. Human evidence is real but early. A 12-week RCT in type 2 diabetes (n=72) found 1500 mg/day added to metformin/gliclazide improved HOMA-IR and raised adiponectin ~20% versus a fall on placebo. In gynecological cancer patients on chemotherapy, an extract raised natural-killer-cell activity and eased side effects. Randomized AndoSan trials in IBD and multiple myeloma shifted cytokine and immune-cell profiles, and a myeloma trial showed no survival benefit. Most studies are small, short, use one branded product, and report lab markers rather than tumor or survival endpoints. It is best viewed as an investigational adjunct, not a proven treatment, and standardization between products varies widely.

Purported Benefits

✓Immune modulation
✓Lower insulin resistance
✓Reduce gut inflammation markers
✓Chemotherapy side-effect support

Evidence by outcome

The same supplement can be well-proven for one use and unproven for another — here is the human evidence graded outcome by outcome.

OutcomeEvidenceEffectStudies
Immune modulation (NK activity, cytokine shifts)Several small AndoSan/ABMK RCTs shift NK activity and cytokines, but these are lab markers, single branded products, no clinical endpoints. Preliminary ↑ benefit 4
Lowers insulin resistance in type 2 diabetesSingle 12-week RCT (n=72) improved HOMA-IR and raised adiponectin as add-on to metformin/gliclazide; unreplicated. Preliminary ↑ benefit · moderate 1
Reduces gut inflammation markers in IBDTwo small AndoSan RCTs lowered cytokines and fecal calprotectin in Crohn's/UC; marker-level only, no clinical remission data. Preliminary ↑ benefit · small 2
Eases chemotherapy side effectsOne RCT in gynecological-cancer patients reported reduced appetite loss/alopecia/weakness; small, single trial. Preliminary ↑ benefit 1
Cancer survival / tumor responseMyeloma transplant RCT showed immune shifts but no survival or response benefit. No Evidence — no effect · negligible 1
Liver injury (hepatotoxicity risk)Case reports of severe hepatic dysfunction including fatal fulminant hepatitis; causality uncertain but a real safety signal. Preliminary ⚠ risk 2

Dosing & Compounds

Typical Dose
Most trials used 1500 mg/day of standardized extract, or ~60 mL/day of the AndoSan liquid extract, for 6–12 weeks.
Active Compounds
Beta-glucans (1,3/1,6)ProteoglycansErgosterolOligosaccharides

Safety & Cautions

Generally well tolerated short-term, with mild nausea, diarrhea or itching most common. The serious concern is hepatotoxicity: case reports describe severe drug-induced liver injury and fatal fulminant hepatitis, mostly in cancer patients, so stop and seek care for jaundice, dark urine or right-upper-abdominal pain, and avoid in liver disease. Because it can lower blood sugar and modulate immunity, use caution with antidiabetic drugs (additive hypoglycemia) and immunosuppressants, and discuss with an oncologist before combining with chemotherapy. Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding due to lack of data. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Agaricus blazei with any medicine.

Key Studies

RCT Tangen 2015 ✓ PubMed
AndoSan in myeloma stem-cell transplant raised Treg and plasmacytoid dendritic cells and IL-1ra/IL-5/IL-7, but no survival or response benefit.
RCT Therkelsen 2016 ✓ PubMed
AndoSan lowered combined IL-1ß/IL-6/G-CSF in Crohn's and IL-2/IL-5/MIP-1ß in ulcerative colitis vs placebo (n=50 IBD patients).
RCT Førland 2011 ✓ PubMed
AndoSan reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine and fecal calprotectin expression in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
RCT Ohno 2011 ✓ Full text
Phase I trial in cancer patients in remission: oral ABM extract was tolerated and increased NK activity, with no dose-limiting toxicity.
RCT Hsu 2007 ✓ PubMed
1500 mg/day for 12 wk added to metformin/gliclazide improved HOMA-IR; adiponectin rose ~20% vs −12% on placebo (n=72, p<0.001).
RCT Ahn 2004 ✓ PubMed
ABMK extract raised NK-cell activity (p<0.002) and reduced appetite loss, alopecia and weakness in gynecological-cancer patients on chemo (n=100).
Safety Tsuda 2015 ✓ PubMed
Case report: drug-induced liver injury from Agaricus blazei Murill resembling autoimmune hepatitis, resolving after withdrawal.
Safety Mukai 2006 ✓ PubMed
Case series: 3 advanced-cancer patients on Agaricus blazei extract developed severe hepatic dysfunction; 2 died of fulminant hepatitis.
Review de Souza 2017 ✓ PubMed
Review: beta-glucans are the main active compounds; basic data abundant but only ~17 clinical studies, calling for standardized RCTs.
9 sources cited · 9 verified Search all studies on PubMed ↗

Common questions about Agaricus blazei

What is Agaricus blazei used for?

Agaricus blazei is most often taken for Immune modulation, Lower insulin resistance, Reduce gut inflammation markers, Chemotherapy side-effect support. Beta-glucan mushroom studied as an immune and metabolic adjunct.

Does Agaricus blazei work — what does the evidence say?

Preliminary evidence. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive. Agaricus blazei (now classified as Agaricus subrufescens) is a Brazilian medicinal mushroom rich in beta-glucans, marketed for immune and anticancer support. Human evidence is real but early. A 12-week RCT in type 2 diabetes (n=72) found 1500 mg/day added to metformin/gliclazide improved HOMA-IR and raised adiponectin ~20% versus a fall on placebo. In gynecological cancer patients on chemotherapy, an extract raised natural-killer-cell activity and eased side effects. Randomized AndoSan trials in IBD and multiple myeloma shifted cytokine and immune-cell profiles, and a myeloma trial showed no survival benefit. Most studies are small, short, use one branded product, and report lab markers rather than tumor or survival endpoints. It is best viewed as an investigational adjunct, not a proven treatment, and standardization between products varies widely.

What is the typical dose of Agaricus blazei?

Most trials used 1500 mg/day of standardized extract, or ~60 mL/day of the AndoSan liquid extract, for 6–12 weeks.

Is Agaricus blazei safe? Any cautions or side effects?

Generally well tolerated short-term, with mild nausea, diarrhea or itching most common. The serious concern is hepatotoxicity: case reports describe severe drug-induced liver injury and fatal fulminant hepatitis, mostly in cancer patients, so stop and seek care for jaundice, dark urine or right-upper-abdominal pain, and avoid in liver disease. Because it can lower blood sugar and modulate immunity, use caution with antidiabetic drugs (additive hypoglycemia) and immunosuppressants, and discuss with an oncologist before combining with chemotherapy. Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding due to lack of data.

How many studies support Agaricus blazei?

NutriDex cites 9 sources for Agaricus blazei, graded "Preliminary".

Cite this page
APA

Peh, D. (2026). Agaricus blazei (Agaricus subrufescens): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects & Evidence. NutriDex — The Supplement Research Compendium. Retrieved 26 Jun 2026, from https://nutridex.info/s/agaricus

BibTeX
@misc{nutridex_agaricus,
  author       = {Peh, Daryl},
  title        = {Agaricus blazei (Agaricus subrufescens): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects \& Evidence},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {NutriDex --- The Supplement Research Compendium},
  url          = {https://nutridex.info/s/agaricus},
  note         = {Reviewed by Dr Daryl Peh, MBBS Singapore, MMed FM. Accessed 2026-06-26}
}

For medical claims, citing the underlying primary studies linked above is preferred. NutriDex is an educational reference, not medical advice.

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