Common fungus in Poland and Europe can become the basis of medicine for colorectal cancer. Research results of Białystok scientists were published by the Journal of Molecular Sciences.

This is the first publication that confirms the anti-cancer effects of Heterobasidion annosum, both in laboratory conditions and on living organisms. The research is the result of several years of work by scientists from the Institute of Forest Sciences of the Bialystok University of Technology and the Department of Experimental Pharmacology at the Medical University of Bialystok.

-We knew that Heterobasidion annosum causes a disease that destroys entire forests. We have now proved that this fungus can also inhibit the growth of cancer without destroying healthy cells. We initially analyzed its chemical composition, examined it from the genetic point of view and we were the first to confirm its potential therapeutic effect – says Dr Ewa Zapora from the Institute of Forest Sciences of the Bialystok University of Technology.