Legend of Agaricus Blazei Murill (ABM)
 

As the number one functional food for illness prevention and leading health supplement in Japan, Agaricus Blazei Murill, is also one of the most researched mushrooms.

Agaricus Blazei Murill, which is also commonly known as Sun's mushroom (Cogumelo do Sol), God's mushroom (Cogumelo de Deus), and Himematsutake is a mushroom that is originally native to a small village, named Piedade, mountain region of St. Paulo state, Brazil.

Agaricus Blazei Murill is used as a traditional health food for the prevention of cancer, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis and chronic hepatitis.

In 1965, Dr Takatoshi Furumoto, a Japanese immigrant living in Brazil, collected the spores of the ABM mushroom and sent them back to Japan. ABM mushrooms are popular amont the Piedate, who appear to have low incidence of cancer and geriatric illnesses and that a disproportionately high number enjoyed longevity.

Japanese researchers Dr. Shobo Shibata from Department of Pharmacy of Tokyo University, Dr. Tetsuo Ikegawa and Dr. Chiba from National Cancer Centre of Japan revealed that the healthy state of the natives in St. Paulo state was due to their frequent consumption of ABM mushroom and managed to detect the actual pharmacological actions of this medicinal mushroom. They discovered that the Agaricus blazei Murril is very rich in polysaccharide compounds namely Beta 1, 3-D Glucan and Beta 1,6-D Glucan, which assist in boosting the immune system and has strong anti-cancer properties. Their research findings were published on the occasion of the General Assembly of the Japanese Pharmacology association and the Japanese Cancer Research Society.