Mycotherapy for dogs: principles and indications

What is mycotherapy?

Mycotherapy is a particular branch of phytotherapy which consists of treating an individual with the help of medicinal mushrooms. Very common in Asia, particularly in China and Japan, therapeutic mushrooms are still very little used in the Western world although they have particularly beneficial actions, in particular on immunity and the treatment of cancers in human medicine as in veterinary medicine.

Mycotherapy: what mushrooms can be used in dogs?

Of the 140,000 species of fungi existing in the world, only 10% of them have been characterized and only some of them can be used in mycotherapy.

Among the most used species of therapeutic mushrooms, we can mention:

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)

Reishi is a mushroom that is commonly used in Asia in herbal tea or as a spice. Its mycelium is also used in the therapeutic context where it is indicated in the fight against cancer for its ability to stimulate certain immune cells and induce the death of cancer cells. Thanks to its many other properties, this mushroom is also indicated in the fight against viral diseases as well as in the treatment of diabetes and certain heart diseases.

The Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)

Shiitake is a mushroom known to stimulate non-specific immunity. It is particularly indicated to prevent the onset of infectious diseases as well as as a hepatoprotective and blood pressure regulator.

Maïtake (Grifola frondosa)

Maïtake is an immunostimulating mushroom, very useful in the treatment of vector-borne infectious diseases such as ehrlichiosis, borreliosis and leishmaniasis.

Honey-colored armillaria (Armillaria mellea)

Honey-colored armillaria is a yellow mushroom indicated in the treatment of ischemic strokes, epilepsy and depression. Its antioxidant, immunostimulant and anti-inflammatory properties also make it particularly useful in the treatment of all inflammatory diseases in older animals.

The karawatake (Coriolus versicolor)

Karawate is a strongly immunostimulant mushroom whose mycelium has been used in treatments against cancer, autoimmune diseases and chronic viral diseases. It is also known to limit allergies.

The Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus)

Lion's Mane is a mushroom that has the property of stimulating the growth of neurons and the myelin sheath. It is thus used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as loss of cognition in elderly animals, in cauda equina syndrome or even in cases of neurological trauma.

Mycotherapy for dogs: how does it work?

In mycotherapy, we do not use the cap of the mushroom but only its mycelium. It is in fact the underground part of the mushroom which contains many polysaccharides and polyphenols, carriers of the pharmacological properties of interest.

To treat a dog, a veterinarian can thus directly use mushroom mycelium grown on aspen, birch or maple bark or standardized extracts of these mushrooms.

It is obviously necessary never to administer mushrooms to your dog without first obtaining the advice of a specialized veterinarian.