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If you’ve ever stopped to admire a birch tree, you may unknowingly have something in common with a 5,300-year-old mummy called Ötzi. In 1991, hikers found Ötzi in an alpine glacier on the Austrian-Italian border, and perfectly preserved with him were piecBirth tree fungus promising as treatment for range of diseases
If you’ve ever stopped to admire a birch tree, you may unknowingly have something in common with a 5,300-year-old mummy called Ötzi. In 1991, hikers found Ötzi in an alpine glacier on the Austrian-Italian border, and perfectly preserved with him were pieces of fungus attached to leather cords, safely stowed in his bag. That fungus is the same one you can see growing on birch trees today: the birch polypore. Sometimes called birch bracket, and known to scientists as Fomitopsis betulina, the polypore is a parasite that slowly kills the birch before feasting on the dead tree until there is nothing left. The scientists who first identified Ötzi’s ancient birch polypore speculated that he could have used it for medical purposes, as some European cultures in more recent human history have been known to do. Ötzi lived in around 3300BC. wiki With recorded applications ranging from pain relief, wound dressing, antiseptic and even cancer treatment, birch polypore has been used as a broad spectrum therapy for various health problems. But is there a true medical basis behind the anecdotal folklore? A drug cocktail Numerous studies have revealed that birch polypore does indeed produce... Read more
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