I talk about what a dual extraction is, some basic at home tincture methods, soxhlet extractors, my stainless steel soxhlets too. Then I dive into mushrooms: reishi, chaga, lions mane, amanita muscaria, turkey tail and cordyceps. and I finish off with herbs: tulsi, Mugwort, knotweed. I had a lot of fun with this one!

Intro to Medicinal Mushrooms & Herbs

A recap of a talk by Michael Wilson of Harmony Acres

This talk covers six medicinal mushrooms and three herbs, along with the basics of how to extract their beneficial compounds at home — starting with a simple question: why do plants and mushrooms produce medicinal compounds for humans in the first place?

Why Do Plants and Mushrooms Contain Medicinal Compounds?

For mushrooms, the compounds that support human health largely started out as defense systems for a soft, vulnerable structure — what protects the mushroom becomes, in a sense, internalized defense for us when we consume it. For plants, it's often volatile oils used for defense and hormonal signaling between plants (which can be dangerous for humans undiluted), plus beneficial mucilage that supports skin health and wound healing when water-extracted. Even the smell of fresh-cut grass is a volatile oil release — a plant's hormonal distress signal to its neighbors.

What Is a Dual Extraction?

Most mushroom and herb tinctures use a dual extraction — separate alcohol and water extractions combined into one preparation, since each solvent pulls out different compounds.

Alcohol extracts:

• Terpenes and essential oil components, diterpenes, triterpenes, and resins — especially at higher proof (think reishi's ganoderic acid triterpenes)
• Cardiac glycosides, saponins, and flavonoid glycosides — alcohol breaks the bonds holding these to cell walls and pulls them into solution
• Sterols like beta-sitosterol and ergosterol
• Chlorophyll and pigments — this is why tinctures often turn dark green

Water extracts:

• Polysaccharides (like beta-glucans) bound up in cell walls and chitin — water breaks these open
• Some minerals, mucilage, water-soluble tannins (astringent compounds like those in black tea and coffee), proteins, and peptides

Mushroom cell walls contain chitin — the same compound found in crustacean shells — which is largely indigestible without breaking it down through heat, hence the importance of a hot water extraction or cooking rather than eating mushrooms raw.

Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae)

The local Northeastern reishi species, growing primarily on hemlock trees (Ganoderma tsugae — "sug" for hemlock). Notable properties:

• Contains tsugaric acid, a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound
• Inhibits growth of sarcoma 180 tumor cells in research models
• Enhances splenic natural killer cell activity
• Triterpenoids are hepatoprotective (support liver function)
• Antioxidant and free-radical-scavenging via phenols, with chelating (toxin-binding) properties
• Increases intracellular glutathione

Best harvest window is roughly late May through July, with an every-other-year "big flush" pattern observed in local populations.

Lion's Mane

One of the most recognized nootropic mushrooms, known for neurological support:

• Antifungal activity against black mold
• Boosts nerve growth factor (NGF) — relevant to Alzheimer's, dementia, and Parkinson's support
• Neurotropic/nootropic — supports myelination (the protective sheath around nerve fibers)
• Hepatoprotective in rat studies
• Contains erinacine, a highly selective kappa opioid receptor agonist that may offer a gentler alternative to morphine-type pain relief (largely theoretical at this stage)
• Commonly reported support for gut health and ADHD-related focus

Amanita Muscaria

Amanita's two primary active compounds are ibotenic acid and muscimol. Ibotenic acid decarboxylates into muscimol (similar to how THCA decarboxylates into THC) and is only studied for neurotoxicity via intravenous injection in rat models — its effects via oral ingestion in humans, and how much crosses the blood-brain barrier, remain poorly understood.

Muscimol acts as a GABA agonist, in the same family as benzodiazepines, alcohol, lavender, chamomile, and kava — producing calming, anti-anxiety, sleep-supportive effects without necessarily causing drowsiness. It's also been studied in rat models for anti-Parkinson's effects and is considered neuroprotective for the myelin sheath.

A few practical notes from the talk: caffeine appears to block muscimol's ability to bind to GABA receptors, so effects are often more noticeable when taken well apart from coffee (roughly 10 hours). Learn more about that here. Alcohol and Amanita are not recommended together, since both act on the GABA pathway — combining them can produce an unpleasant hangover-like effect rather than a synergistic one. Because potency varies significantly between individual mushrooms, working with a larger homogenized batch (rather than nibbling individual specimens) produces far more consistent dosing.

Cordyceps Militaris

Originally discovered by yak herders in Tibet, who noticed improved agility in yaks that grazed on it:

• Higher in cordycepin and adenosine than C. sinensis
• Cordycepin closely resembles adenosine, a building block of ATP (cellular energy currency) — boosting oxygen uptake and metabolic efficiency
• A study on subfertile boars found increased sperm quality and quantity
• Cordycepin inhibits cancer cell growth and division in research models
• Upregulates the dopaminergic system, with potential neuroprotective effects
• Anti-aging effects via stimulation of myocardial ATP and mitochondrial electron transport
• A 5-year study found an 84% reduction in lupus nephritis recurrence
• Reported to increase testosterone; a 1993 10,000-meter run record was broken by 42 seconds on the day competitors took cordyceps
• One study found a 64% decrease in sexual dysfunction in men
• 71% of runners in a study showed improved athletic performance via better oxygen uptake; ATP increased by 28%

Turkey Tail

One of the most ubiquitous mushrooms on the planet, and one of the most clinically studied:

• Over 400 clinical studies in Japan on immune-boosting effects
• In 1987, 25% of Japan's natural anticancer research budget went to PSK (polysaccharide krestin), a turkey tail extract
• PSK was the first mushroom-derived compound covered by health insurance in Japan (as an anticancer drug)
• Increases white blood cell counts, supporting immune function during chemotherapy or radiation
• Increases bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics and may prolong their effectiveness — potentially relevant alongside a doxycycline course for acute Lyme exposure
• A controlled clinical trial of 485 patients with esophageal, stomach, and lung cancer found 72% remission with chemotherapy plus turkey tail, versus 42% in the control group

Chaga

Technically a sclerotium rather than a true mushroom, chaga grows on birch trees (occasionally other hosts) and is traditionally harvested only in deep winter, after sustained cold — a practice rooted in Native American lore about the tree's energy concentrating downward through the trunk during dormancy.

• Traditional use: burned with tobacco to keep an ember lit, used as incense, and burned over meridian points similarly to moxibustion in Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Contains over 200 constituent compounds, notably betulinic acid and inotodiol
• Petri-dish studies have shown 100% carcinoma cell death from these compounds (in vitro findings; not a clinical outcome claim)
• 50–150x more antioxidant activity than other mushrooms, largely attributed to its phenol content

Mugwort

One of the first herbs many herbalists connect with, mugwort can be taken as tea, tincture, or smoked, or simply placed under a pillow.

• A GABA-active herb associated with vivid, sometimes intense dreams — often described as surfacing "shadow self" material (hidden fears, primal or repressed content)
• Antioxidant and hepatoprotective (supports liver function)
• Mild nervine, supportive of sleep
• Digestive bitter — stimulates bile production
• Used traditionally in moxibustion, burned near acupuncture meridian points
• Bronchodilator, supportive for lung infections

Caution: mugwort stimulates uterine contractions and should be avoided during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Tulsi (Holy Basil)

A member of the basil and mint family, revered in Hinduism as the goddess Tulasi, with several varieties including a common hybrid (Kapoor) alongside Rama, Vana, and Krishna.

• Used in toothpaste for its antibacterial properties
• Supports healthy blood pressure regulation
• Helps reduce cortisol and supports the body's response to chronic stress
• Supportive for respiratory infections
• Easy to grow, with minimal pest issues

Japanese Knotweed

An extremely invasive, tenacious plant — sometimes called "Pennsylvania bamboo" — that also happens to be the richest known plant source of resveratrol, by a wide margin:

Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant studied for its role in slowing the shortening of telomeres — one of the cellular markers associated with aging. The root, harvested in its dormant stage (late fall through early spring), is the most concentrated part of the plant and forms the basis of a potent anti-inflammatory tincture; the young spring shoots are also edible, with a citrusy flavor similar to rhubarb.

Knotweed is a staple of many herbal Lyme disease protocols — valued both for its anti-inflammatory action and its support for epithelial tissue. As with any wild foraging, it's best harvested well away from roadsides or areas treated with herbicides, since the plant readily takes up whatever is in its environment.

Michael Wilson is the founder of Harmony Acres, where he handcrafts small-batch mushroom and herbal extracts from his property in Clarion, PA.

This article was adapted from Michael's talk with AI assistance for structure and editing — the research, experience, and opinions are his own.