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Is maitake mushroom safe? What it is good for and how to eat it
In this article
Maitake is a food mushroom, and cooked maitake is safe for most people in the amounts you would eat at a meal. The best evidence is a 2026 placebo-controlled, supplier-linked trial in which 47 healthy Japanese adults aged 60 and over ate 50 g of maitake a day baked into bread for 18 weeks; nobody stopped because of side effects, and one of the two strains tested raised a cognitive score above placebo while the other did not.1 A second supplier-linked trial of the same bread found the number of colds did not differ from placebo; a secondary measure differed for one strain.2 The reasons for care: a published rise in INR in a person taking a maitake extract with warfarin, a possible blood-glucose effect in case reports, mushroom allergy, and no data in pregnancy, breastfeeding or childhood.6, 7 No mushroom has an authorised health claim in Great Britain. Maitake page of do mushroom supplements work?
Sources checked on 29 October 2026.
Is maitake mushroom safe?
As a cooked food, yes: it has been eaten in Japan and across the northern hemisphere for centuries, is sold fresh in UK supermarkets in autumn, and in the 18-week trial of 50 g a day no participant left because of an adverse effect.1 As an extract, the record is thinner but reassuring in the groups studied: 34 women who had completed breast-cancer treatment took a liquid extract at 0.1 to 5 mg per kg twice a day for three weeks with no dose-limiting toxicity, though two withdrew with mild nausea and a rash, and 18 people with a bone-marrow disorder tolerated 3 mg per kg twice a day for 12 weeks, 4 of them with a symptomless rise in eosinophils.3, 4 The 2009 systematic review found a lack of systematic study of safety and effectiveness in humans, and outside the two Japanese trials that remains true.8 So "safe" means a food with a long history and no serious harm in the small trials run so far, not a supplement tested for years as a medicine is.
What does "maitake" mean, and what is hen of the woods?
Maitake is Japanese for "dancing mushroom", pronounced "my-TAH-keh". Its Latin name is Grifola frondosa, and in English it is hen of the woods, because the overlapping grey-brown fronds look like a sitting hen's feathers. It grows in clumps at the base of oaks in late summer and autumn, in Britain as well as Japan and North America. It is not related to chicken of the woods, an orange bracket fungus, and it contains no psilocybin.
What is maitake good for? What has been studied
Maitake is good for eating; everything beyond that is a question of what has been measured in people. The table lists every human study on PubMed, placebo-controlled trials first; none has been repeated by an independent group. The other minor species with two trials is snow fungus.
| Study | Who and how many | What they took | What was measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jogi 2026, placebo-controlled, supplier-linked1 | 47 healthy adults aged 60 and over | 50 g a day of one of two strains in bread, 18 weeks | Cognitive score (MoCA-J) above placebo with one strain, not the other; natural-killer-cell activity rose with the same strain; no withdrawals for adverse effects |
| Masuda 2026, placebo-controlled, supplier-linked2 | Healthy adults aged 18 to 20 and 40 to 85 | The same bread, 11 or 18 weeks | Number of colds unchanged; a secondary measure differed for one strain |
| Deng 2009, dose escalation3 | 34 women after breast-cancer treatment | Liquid extract, 0.1 to 5 mg/kg twice a day, 3 weeks | Immune markers in blood moved up and down depending on dose; no dose-limiting toxicity |
| Wesa 2015, single group4 | 18 people with myelodysplastic syndrome | Extract 3 mg/kg twice a day, 12 weeks | Neutrophil and monocyte function in the laboratory rose; well tolerated, symptomless eosinophilia in 4; supplier-funded |
| Chen 2010, open trial5 | 72 women with polycystic ovary syndrome | A maitake extract or clomifene, up to 12 weeks | Ovulation in 76.9% on maitake against 93.5% on clomifene; no placebo group |
| Konno 2001, case reports6 | A few people with type 2 diabetes | A maitake extract | A possible fall in blood glucose, in a letter with no control group |
Three things the table does not contain are worth saying plainly, because they circulate online. No human study has measured cholesterol, blood pressure, heart disease or fertility in healthy people after eating maitake. The "fight tumours" line comes from mouse work on a maitake polysaccharide and from the two hospital studies above, which measured blood markers, not tumours. And "400 mg of immune-supporting polysaccharides in 2 g of powder" has no source we could find; the immune wording is one the Great Britain register rejects for every mushroom and yeast beta-glucan, including a refused maitake row, "contributes to the natural defences". The 34-trial review of fungal beta-glucans found immune-marker changes that were inconsistent between studies, a laboratory finding and the reason for the caution below, not a benefit.9
Does maitake lower blood sugar?
No placebo-controlled trial has tested it. The evidence is a 2001 letter describing a possible blood-glucose fall in a few people with type 2 diabetes taking a maitake extract, mouse studies, and a 2020 review that counted the clinical data for all mushrooms in type 2 diabetes as a few trials and case reports.6, 10 That is enough for a precaution, not a claim. If you take a glucose-lowering medicine and want to eat maitake regularly or take an extract, tell your diabetes team, check your readings more often for a fortnight, and never change a dose yourself.
How do you eat maitake mushroom?
Cook it. Tear the clump into fronds, rinse only if gritty, and roast at 200°C for 20 minutes or fry in a hot pan until the edges crisp; it tastes earthy and peppery and takes garlic, soy sauce or butter well. Do not eat it raw: raw mushrooms are hard to digest, and a cooked portion is what every study used. A supermarket pack of 100 to 150 g serves two, close to the 50 g a day the Japanese trials baked into bread: a culinary amount, not a supplement dose.1, 2 Maitake powder and capsules exist, but no human study has tested a dried powder at a stated gram dose, so there is no evidence-based daily dose; if you use one, follow the label. Shiitake needs cooking for a different reason, covered in can you eat shiitake every day?
Who should not take maitake?
Anyone on warfarin without telling their anticoagulant clinic: one published case describes a patient whose INR rose after adding a maitake extract to warfarin, a single report but enough to ask first and keep INR checks regular.7 Anyone on medicines that lower blood glucose, for the reason above. Anyone on medicines that suppress the immune system, including transplant drugs, biologics, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, because maitake extracts moved immune markers in both cancer-centre studies, in both directions: a mechanism-based caution with no interaction case on record; ask the specialist.3, 4, 9 Anyone with a mushroom allergy; one farm worker developed hypersensitivity pneumonitis from inhaling maitake spores, an occupational exposure, but a reminder that fungal allergy is real.11 Pregnant and breastfeeding women and children have been in no study, so there is no safety data for extracts. Blood pressure is untested in people, so the old warning about blood-pressure medicines has no evidence either way. Tell the pre-operative assessment team about any extract. Report a suspected reaction to your local authority's trading standards or environmental health team, which works with the Food Standards Agency.12 The same cautions across species are in the side effects of mushroom supplements and what cordyceps does for the body.
What we don't know
No placebo-controlled trial has tested a maitake powder or extract at a stated gram dose, so there is no evidence-based supplement amount. Blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol have not been measured in a controlled trial; the glucose signal rests on a 2001 letter.6, 10 The two Japanese bread trials share authors employed by the producer and have not been repeated independently.1, 2 Nothing is known about extracts in pregnancy, breastfeeding or childhood.
Frequently asked questions
How does maitake make you feel?
Like a meal: no study asked, and nothing in it is a stimulant or sedative.
Is maitake mushroom a psychedelic?
No. It contains no psilocybin and is not a controlled substance.
Is maitake good for your heart or blood pressure?
No human study has measured either; it belongs in a varied diet like any mushroom.
How much maitake did the trials use?
50 g of fresh mushroom a day baked into bread for 18 weeks in adults aged 60 and over; no trial has tested a powder or capsule dose.1
Is maitake safe in pregnancy, while breastfeeding or for children?
No trial has included them, so there is no safety data for extracts; a cooked portion of a food mushroom is a different matter.
Sources
- Jogi EM, et al. Maitake mushroom enhances cognitive function in healthy older Japanese. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 47 adults, 18 weeks; authors include the producer's staff. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 2026. PubMed 42055721.
- Masuda Y, et al. Maitake mushroom supplementation and upper respiratory symptoms in healthy adults. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, size not in the abstract, 11 or 18 weeks; authors include the producer's staff. Food and Function, 2026. PubMed 42627298.
- Deng G, et al. A phase I/II trial of a polysaccharide extract from maitake in breast cancer patients. Dose-escalation trial, 34 women, 3 weeks; US public funding. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 2009. PubMed 19253021.
- Wesa KM, et al. Maitake mushroom extract in myelodysplastic syndromes. Single-group phase II trial, 18 of 21 completed, 12 weeks; funded by a maitake producer. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 2015. PubMed 25351719.
- Chen JT, et al. Maitake extract induces ovulation in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Open randomised trial, 72 women, up to 12 weeks; funding not stated. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2010. PubMed 21034160.
- Konno S, et al. A possible hypoglycaemic effect of maitake mushroom on Type 2 diabetic patients. Letter describing uncontrolled cases. Diabetic Medicine, 2001. PubMed 11903406.
- Hanselin MR, Vande Griend JP, Linnebur SA. INR elevation with maitake extract in combination with warfarin. Case report, 1 patient. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 2010. PubMed 20040699.
- Ulbricht C, et al. Maitake mushroom: systematic review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. Systematic review. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology, 2009. PubMed 19476741.
- Vlassopoulou M, et al. Effects of fungal beta-glucans on health. Systematic review, 34 randomised trials; funding not stated. Food and Function, 2021. PubMed 33876798.
- Lindequist U, Haertel B. Medicinal mushrooms for treatment of type 2 diabetes: an update on clinical trials. Narrative review. International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, 2020. PubMed 33389851.
- Tanaka H, et al. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by Grifola frondosa (maitake) mushroom. Case report, 1 farm worker. Internal Medicine, 2004. PubMed 15468977.
- Food Standards Agency. How to report a food safety or hygiene issue for members of the public. gov.uk.
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