We are sitting here today with Dr. Kohei Homma from the Amino Up Corporation of Japan. We're having the pleasure of meeting in Sapporo, Japan, and we're going to discuss AHCC. AHCC was first developed in 1987. Can you please tell us about its discovery and development?
Right. That time, our founder of the company, Mr. Kosuna, was in the collaboration with the University of Tokyo. They were first trying to understand why mushroom ingredient has been used from ancient China for immune modulation, so they came to the hypothesis that this mushroom ingredient, mushroom inaudible is recognized by our body as a foreign substance so that our immune switch can be stimulated. That's how our immunity is moderated. So they also wanted to improve the efficacy. At the same time they wanted to improve the reproducibility so that they came up with this brilliant idea of doing the cell culture of the mice area. So in this finding in the beginning, they screened hundreds of different species of inaudible mushrooms and they came to this very best one working on the immunity. And that has been kept in our deep freezer as a frozen stock. So that is really always the starter. Certain material is always the same. And by using this liquid culture system, the product AHCC will be always the same in quality. That's how AHCC was developed.
And you mentioned that they've been used for 1,000 years in Asian culture, mushrooms, for immunity and for healing. And how did that begin? What caused the Asian culture to gravitate towards the mushroom?
I don't know, by long history that just by long history of the consumption of those edible mushrooms, and they found... Because China, they have this traditional Chinese medicine and many of those traditional Chinese medicine is using a mushroom based ingredient. But the mushroom is really... Has a lot of, of course, a lot of species, a lot of variations, seasonal variations. So the clinical outcome was not really stable. So that's the point, AHCC was a lot improved.
And it's made from shiitake mushrooms.
Are the shiitake mushrooms from Japan? Are they all grown in Japan that are made with the AHCC?
Yes, there is a type of shiitake mushroom, and of course, the origin was from Japan. But as I mentioned, this is already in a frozen stock in our deep freezer in the lab. So we don't do cultured... I mean, let me take over. You can edit, right?
Yeah, we will edit. And if you want to stop, anytime.
Right. So as I said, AHCC is now made from a starter that is a frozen stock in our deep freezer in our lab. So we don't really harvest the mushroom anymore. So that is the original mushroom came from Japan, but we are not using the regular mushroom.
And has the formula or the manufacturing process changed over time? So it was developed in 1987, but has there been advancements or edits or changes to the way you're manufacturing the AHCC over the time since it was first developed?
Well, there were a lot of improvement, but the fundamental part is not changed yet.
How long does AHCC keep its potency? So once it's manufactured, how long can it be effective for a dosage for the consumer? So if they get a bottle and it's kept in a good place, how long will the effectiveness be for the AHCC?
Okay. So it's depending on the delivery forms. We have two different types of AHCC material. One is a fine granule, which is coated with edible wax so that it has more stability and it has a three years shelf life of this material. Another material is a soluble type of AHCC powder, but that is a more hydroscopic, so it's less stable.
We looked at the plant together, we did a tour, and we noticed the very sophisticated process of manufacturing AHCC. How long does it take to manufacture a batch of AHCC from start to finish?
Right. From start to the end, it takes about two months to produce one batch of AHCC. That is because we do this a liquid subculture system, but we need to start from the really small scale, then upscale the volume gradually. That's how we achieve the quality of this mushroom growth each step so that over the time we have a same quality of AHCC powder.
And do you believe healthy people should be taking AHCC as well as people with health concerns or immunity issues?
Absolutely. Our immunity can be compromised very easily just because of if you are too stressed or you're too tired, lacking sleep also say matters our immunity. And if our immunity is not working well, we are really at a high risk of catching cold or getting the bacterial infection or viral infections. So AHCC is recommended for healthy people for health maintenance.
And some of the feedback is that AHCC gives people energy. And can you explain what it does in the body to create a feeling of having energy or feeling stimulated in a positive way from taking AHCC?
Well, a main part is this immune modulation. When our immunity is working well, we are more protected. That's our first and main reason. And secondly, our AHCC has a great character to reduce the inflammation. So systemically, anywhere if we have inflammation there is a problem, so AHCC can reduce it. Also, AHCC is working to condition our microbiome.
What is the ideal age that someone should start taking AHCC to start building a healthy immune system?
AHCC can be recommended for any age, actually, but especially after three years old because that is an age that our metabolism gets stabilized, I mean get matured. Also like a TH1, TH2 balance is also matured and a microbiome also get matured.
And are there any allergies that people can experience from taking AHCC?
We actually have never heard of such cases, but the allergies are basically caused by the proteins. And in AHCC powder there's really less protein inside, so there's really less chance of allergy.
Now, AHCC has been at the forefront of healthy treatment for people with HPV, and want to talk a little bit about the development of HPV and AHCC and the benefits that people experience. So when was it made clear that there might be a benefit for people with HPV to take AHCC? When was that connection first made, do you know?
Well, that research was really initiated by Professor Smith in University of Texas. She started her research more than 10 years ago and she started from, of course, the self study in vitro study, but upgraded to the mice model and the human clinical. And actually the last a double-blind placebo control study, a human clinical study was completed two years ago and that was published on the Scientific Journal just last year in 2022.
And it seems as if hundreds of institutions now are recommending AHCC and are doing research and doing papers like the Yale School of Medicine and Harvard and other prestigious institutions worldwide. Is it because they see the effectiveness and they want to contribute to eradicating infections?
Right. Well, we have been collaborating with really those doctors and researchers from every different kind of field. So those doctors and researchers, they have their own research field. And from each those researcher's perspective, AHCC has been very, very scientifically interesting material for those doctors and researchers.
Recommended dosage. When it comes to people with high risk HPV, is there a recommended dosage? And how long should they go on that dosage in your opinion, doctor?
Dosage-wise, three grams per day is a recommended daily dosage and that is a dosage used in that double-blind placebo control study. But at the same time, in the preliminary clinical study Professor Smith did, she also tested one gram daily dosage and that was still effective, but it just took longer time to eradicate HPV compared to three grams.
So in other words, if someone takes one gram, there can be a positive impact as well as if they take three grams.
It takes... Yeah, it is more effective and shorter.
Shortens the window of effectiveness.
And are there any supplements you recommend people take in combination with AHCC, in terms of vitamins or nutrients to get the best effect?
Right. First, I would recommend vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for our immune receptors, which AHCC is supposed to stimulate. So that is our ideal combination. Also, zinc and selenium, they are good nutrients for working with AHCC for immunity.
Is there a recommended timeframe that you would recommend, if someone's been tested and has discovered they have HPV, if they've been diagnosed with HPV, is there a period of time after going on a dosage of AHCC, you think they should get retested to see how their progress has been made?
Well, clinically proven a period is three to six months. But at the same time, immune moderation happen in average in two weeks. So in two weeks, there should be already a positive effect, but it takes time to really eradicate such as HPV.
Is there an amount of AHCC that would be too much to take? So in other words, three grams was tested, but if someone wants to take four grams or five grams, would that be too much? Or what is the limit, in your opinion?
In latest stage of prostate cancer patients, for example, we have a clinical study they tested at six grams per day and that is more effective than, of course, three grams per day. But I would say six grams as a daily dosage should be the maximum because that's already good dosage.
And is there a feeling a consumer or a patient should feel when they're taking AHCC to know it's working? Is there something that people report that they feel in their body to know that it's having an effect or a positive effect, sensations?
Right. Well, when you have a sore throat, for example, and you take a high dose, three grams of AHCC just before going to bed and in the next morning you would probably feel better.
In terms of the vaccine, the HPV vaccine, is there still a positive effect of taking AHCC if you've had the HPV vaccine?
Of course, of course. HPV vaccine is basically for a prevention, is even for preventative effect. And AHCC, of course, helps when combined with the vaccine, AHCC has a function to work as a vaccine adjuvant to support, help the effect of vaccine.
In terms of dietary recommendations for getting the best results out of AHCC, are there any foods you recommend to avoid or any foods you recommend someone take when they have either HPV or an infection and they're taking AHCC?
I don't think about any food you shouldn't take with AHCC, but in my opinion, for example, AHCC with yogurt, probiotics, that is a very good combination.
In terms of the best time to take AHCC, when do you recommend someone take it? And should it be on an empty stomach or should it be combined with food? What is your recommendation?
AHCC should be taken on empty stomach. That is because in our small intestine in GI tract, there are immune receptors, immune switches that AHCC is supposed to stimulate. So we basically want to expose such an immune switch to AHCC.
Okay, we're wrapping up. We're getting close to the end. I just want you to know that. In terms of the phase two clinical studies that came out, can you talk about that a little bit? What was so significant about that and why? What was that study? What did that prove? What did that make clear to the public beyond a doubt? Can you share a little bit of your feelings about that?
Of course. In that HPV study, right?
Yes. The subject was a woman who has been positively infected with high risk type of HPV, over two years. Continuously positive over two years. And when they started taking AHCC, they turned to be negative in six months. I mean, 64% of them turned to be negative, which means they could eradicate HPV finally, after being positive for two years.
And they were taking what dosage, doctor?
That was three grams per day.
I want to just take a break and then I want to ask you just a little bit more because I feel like we glossed over you, who you are, and I think we should just find... It would be great to just ask you a couple more questions about you and your credentials just for a minute.
If you could just tell us a little bit about your background and what your education and experience is in the medical field, that would be very helpful, and what your role is currently.
Okay. I have PhD in biochemistry.
If you could even say what your name is too. "I'm Dr...." Your full name and then what your background is. Sorry.
Okay. I'm Dr. Kohei Homma. My... Sorry.
It's okay. It's okay. Could you please introduce yourself, doctor?
Okay. I'm Dr. Kohei Homma. I have a PhD from biochemistry field. I've been working since graduate school. I have been working in the protein structural analysis. So I was always interested in what's really happening in our body from gene expression to protein and how protein is working in our body. So that's how to understand how protein is working in our body, we need to understand how the protein structure is. So that was the field I was trying to see... Let me start over.
You know what, when you start over, do me a favor. Just say... Let me just give it to you and then you can just... And we're going to edit all those.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Kohei. I'm currently the director of science at Amino Up Corporation and I graduated with a master's doctorate in science from Carnegie Mellon University. My specific area of study is boop boop boop boop boop boop." Just something like that.
Hi, doctor. And could you please introduce yourself to people?
Yes. I'm Dr. Kohei Homma. I'm currently a senior executive director at Amino Up Company in Japan. And I graduated from a University of Scuba, then got PhD, degree from University of Tokyo. And then immediately after PhD, I went to the United States. I started working as a postdoc in University of Nebraska and turned to be a faculty there. So I had really over 10 years of experience in doing real research in gene expression to protein chemistry.
One last question, and if I missed anything, please tell me. If you could just talk about how many universities and how many studies are going on about, just in terms of the number of papers and the number of clinical studies and the number of universities working on AHCC about all things, not just HPV, just so that we can make it bigger in terms of the sound of what people are working on. So if you could, the question I would ask is, can you please share some of the highlights or some of the major studies and places that AHCC is being looked at?
Let's see. So in Amino Up, we are always running a collaborative research with over... I'll start over.
By the way, you're doing amazing. This is the last question, right?
So almost like, here's what I want you to say. I want you to say something along the lines of, "AHCC has been the subject of over 100 medical papers. It's been in over 30 human clinical studies and it's currently being looked at worldwide by major institutions because of its effectiveness in treating cancer, HPV, and other major infections."
Okay, okay. All right. There are more than 150 publications on scientific journals about AHCC, including over 35 human clinical studies. And just over 150 research institute and universities we have been in collaborative research with, and still many doctors and researchers are evaluating in their research about the AHCC in the field of cancer or infectious diseases, bacterial infection, viral infections, including HPV.
How many doctors or institutes are currently using AHCC as part of their practice? I was told it was in the thousands.
Yes. We didn't really... I don't know, we didn't really count the exact number, but easily over 1,000 of hospitals and clinics are really recommending AHCC for patients.
Thank you, doctor. That was so-
You're so natural on camera.
You were so excellent. No, no, no, no...