folklore says it grows where a tigress drips milk while nursing her cubs.

The medicinal part is the underground sclerotium (a compact mass of mycelial tissue), not the fruiting body.

reduces asthma by suppressing the inflammatory white blood cells (eosinophils) that cause asthma attacks, blocking the master signaling molecules that orchestrate allergic asthma (Th2 cytokines), lowering the allergy antibody IgE, and preventing the structural narrowing of airways that turns chronic asthma into a permanent disability.

Tiger Milk Mushroom kills breast, lung, leukemia, liver, colorectal, prostate, oral, nasopharyngeal, and skin cancer cells. traditionally used both as a topical paste on breast cancer (Kensiu tribe of Malaysia) and as an oral medicine for liver cancer (Hong Kong Chinese practitioners), and modern research confirms both routes work. an actual human clinical trial was conducted for breast cancer remission support.

activates the TrkA receptor, the same receptor that nerve growth factor (NGF) uses to make neurons grow, connect, and survive.
it also protects neural stem cells from being killed by stress hormones (cortisol), which is the mechanism behind stress-induced cognitive decline and depression-related brain shrinkage. relevant for memory, focus, learning, neurodegeneration prevention, and recovery from chronic stress.

Tiger Milk Mushroom blocks COX-2, the same enzyme that prescription anti-inflammatories like Celebrex target. used traditionally as a topical paste on wounds, which combines its antimicrobial activity with its anti-inflammatory effects. helps wounds heal faster while reducing pain and swelling.

Tiger Milk Mushroom mildly thins the blood through its polysaccharide-protein complexes. relevant for cardiovascular protection but means it shouldn't be combined with pharmaceutical blood thinners without medical supervision.

Tiger Milk Mushroom's lectins (sugar-binding proteins) coat viral surface proteins and block them from attaching to your cells. broad antiviral coverage through this physical blocking mechanism rather than direct viral killing.