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Botanical illustration of Turkey Tail
MedicinalSourced entry

Turkey Tail

Trametes versicolor

A mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic. Extracts from it are used alongside cancer treatment in Japan and China.

Safety at a glance

Tap a box to read the safety notes below. “Nothing recorded” means our sources don't cover it, not that it's safe.

Turkey Tail may interact with some medicines. If you take any medicine, read Interactions with medicines below and talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using it.

What is Turkey Tail?

Plant family
Polyporaceae, a family of bracket fungi (mushrooms that grow on wood)
Parts used
The mushroom; extracts called PSK and PSP are made from it
Genus
Trametes
Species
versicolor

Also called

Turkey Tail Mushroom, Kawaratake, PSK, PSP, Krestin

Traditional names

Yun Zhi, Yunzhi

Older scientific names

Coriolus versicolor, Polyporus versicolor

Traditionally used for

  • Immune support
  • General health
  • Cancer care (alongside treatment)

Traditionally described as

  • Immune support

Health topics

Where Turkey Tail appears in symptom search, and why. Being listed doesn't mean it's a proven treatment.

Traditions that use it

How it's prepared

Common ways Turkey Tail is prepared or sold. This isn't advice on how to take it; see Safety below.

Safety

Interactions with medicines

  • Herbal supplements, including turkey tail, can interact with some medicines and affect how they work.[1]General reference

Side effects

  • Turkey tail extracts are generally well tolerated. Reported side effects include dark stools (not caused by bleeding) and darkened fingernails. Mild digestive and blood-count problems were seen when it was used with chemotherapy, though the chemotherapy may have caused them.[1]General reference

Pregnancy

  • It isn't known whether turkey tail supplements are safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Talk to your healthcare provider first.[1]General reference

How much to use

  • It's generally safe to use turkey tail in food and tea. Supplements are stronger than the amounts used in cooking, so talk with your healthcare providers before taking them.[1]General reference

Contamination

  • Many over-the-counter turkey tail products aren't standardized, so their strength can vary between brands.[1]General reference

What does the research say?

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

  • In traditional Chinese medicine, turkey tail (yun zhi) is used as a tonic to improve general health and boost the immune system.[1]General reference

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

  • In lab tests, turkey tail extracts killed leukemia cells and slowed the growth of breast cancer cells. In mice, very high doses of a hot-water extract (10 to 13 times the doses people use) increased intestinal tumors.[1]General reference

Research in people

  • PSK, an extract developed in Japan, is used there and in China alongside standard cancer treatment to lower the chance of cancer coming back. Added to treatment, it appears to improve survival in stomach and colorectal cancer, and may help in esophageal cancer. Results in breast cancer, liver cancer and leukemia are mixed. The US FDA hasn't approved turkey tail extracts as cancer treatments.[1]General reference

  • In a small trial, 15 people with advanced liver cancer who couldn't have standard treatment took turkey tail or a placebo. There was no clear difference in survival or in how fast the cancer grew. People taking turkey tail reported better emotional and social wellbeing, less pain and less loss of appetite.[2]Study

    Technical detail: randomized 2:1; median overall survival 6.5 vs 2.2 months, HR 0.35 (95% CI 0.10 to 1.25, p = 0.105); time to progression HR 0.70 (p = 0.634).

  • A 2022 Cochrane review of 7 trials (1,569 people, mostly in Japan) looked at a turkey tail extract (PSK) given with treatment for bowel cancer. It's uncertain whether it reduces chemotherapy side effects such as low white blood cells, mouth sores, nausea or tiredness. There was a small improvement in 5-year survival: about 1 extra person alive for every 16 treated. The evidence was of low to very low certainty.[3]Review or trial

    Technical detail: 5-year survival RR 1.08 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.15; 3 studies, 1,094 people).

  • An older 2012 review of 13 trials found that adding turkey tail (yun zhi) to standard cancer treatment reduced 5-year deaths by 9%, mainly in breast, stomach and bowel cancer treated with chemotherapy, but not in oesophageal or nasopharyngeal cancer.[4]Review or trial

In short

Its safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding isn't known; talk to your doctor before using supplements.

Sources

  1. [1] Coriolus versicolor — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About HerbsGeneral reference
  2. [2] Coriolus versicolor (Yunzhi) Use as Therapy in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Poor Liver Function or Who Are Unfit for Standard Therapy — Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · DOI: 10.1089/acm.2016.0136Peer-reviewed study
  3. [3] Coriolus (Trametes) versicolor mushroom to reduce adverse effects from chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with colorectal cancer · DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012053.pub2Review or clinical trial
  4. [4] Efficacy of Yun Zhi (Coriolus versicolor) on survival in cancer patients: systematic review and meta-analysis · DOI: 10.2174/187221312798889310Review or clinical trial

This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Unfamiliar word? See what these words mean.