Betulinic acid (from chaga mushroom) a potent antiviral for echovirus

[Hip]

Betulinic acid, which is naturally found in the chaga mushroom, has potent in vitro antiviral effects against echovirus 6 (and possibly for other echoviruses), with an amazingly low EC50 of 0.007 μM, a study found.

By a pharmacokinetic calculation I performed, around 100 mg of betulinic acid daily would also have good in vivo antiviral potency for echovirus in humans, comparable to the potency of commercial antiviral drugs.

So for ME/CFS patients with active echovirus infections, betulinic acid (or chaga mushroom containing betulinic acid) may be worth looking into.


You can buy liposomal betulinic acid here and here, in capsules containing 50 mg. This MCS Formulas brand provides a high dose of betulinic acid.

Chaga mushrooms (Inonotus obliquus) of the type which grow on birch trees contain betulinic acid. Some chaga mushroom supplements contain 2% betulinic acid (so 1 gram of such supplements will provide 20 mg of betulinic acid).

Betulinic acid also has anti-cancer effects. But at the same time, can induce DNA damage in cells.

Spoiler: Pharmacokinetic Calculation

A study found a single oral 100 mg/kg dose of betulinic acid in rats led to a blood plasma Cmax of 1.16 μg/ml = 2.54 μM.

So to achieve the EC50 concentration of 0.007 μM, a rat dose of 100 x 0.007 / 2.54 = 0.28 mg/kg would be required.

To convert rat mg/kg doses to human mg/kg doses, we divide the former by 6.2, giving a human dose of 0.28 / 6.2 = 0.045 mg/kg. So for an 80 kg adult, that corresponds to an oral dose of 3.6 mg.

However, this dose does not take into account the plasma protein binding of betulinic acid, which is >70%. Factoring in the protein binding, we get an oral dose of 3.6 x 100 / (100 - 70) = 12 mg being one which achieves the EC50 concentration in the blood.

Thus a human oral dose of 100 mg of betulinic acid should achieve blood levels of betulinic acid around 8 times the EC50, which will have a good antiviral effect in vivo.

 

[Dysfunkion]

Have you tried it yourself and what do you feel from the betulinic acid alone? Whenever I try chaga it's like rocket fuel to me, it cuts right through my fatigue physically and makes me extremely speedy but doesn't do much for brain fog. Can't find anything on people who have specifically tried birch bark and I'm not sure if it's the betulinic acid in chaga that does that or something else.

 

[Hip]

Have you tried it yourself and what do you feel from the betulinic acid alone?

I did try it some years ago, taking chaga mushroom (with 2% betulinic acid) 800 mg daily. This would correspond to 16 mg of betulinic acid a day, which is probably too low a dose to have a good antiviral effect.

The liposomal betulinic acid supplement I linked to above would be better, as each capsule contains 50 mg of betulinic acid. Plus being liposomal, you would get better bioavailability.

This liposomal betulinic acid supplement is new I think, and was not available when I wanted to test out betulinic acid a few years ago, so I had to use chaga mushroom, which is a more expensive way of getting betulinic acid.

I did not notice any improvement in my ME/CFS symptoms on this low dose. However, I have not been tested for echovirus, using the sensitive antibody neutralisation test Dr Chia recommends. I know I have active coxsackievirus B4 infection, but not sure if I have any active echovirus infections. It would be better to test this betulinic acid on someone with known active echovirus infections.

The appropriate antibody blood tests (using the neutralisation method) for echovirus and coxsackievirus B are detailed in this MEpedia article.

 

[perchance dreamer]

Chaga gives me sleep problems, unfortunately.

 

[L'engle]

The chaga I've tried makes me sleepy. I have it at night in warmed goat's milk sometimes and find it pleasant. Haven't used huge amounts of it tho.

I don't know anything about echoviruses or how one would test for those.

 

[Hip]

I don't know anything about echoviruses or how one would test for those.

Testing for active echovirus infection in ME/CFS is not easy, because Dr Chia's recommended neutralisation antibody test is only available at a handful of labs in the world, including ARUP Lab in the US, and the Institute of Medical Virology in Germany. Those labs are detailed in the coxsackievirus B and echovirus section of my roadmap.

 

[Dysfunkion]

The chaga I've tried makes me sleepy. I have it at night in warmed goat's milk sometimes and find it pleasant. Haven't used huge amounts of it tho.

I don't know anything about echoviruses or how one would test for those.

That's interesting how it can have the complete opposite effects on people, it feels all body and mental speed though. Like the brain fog and everything else will still be there but now the brain fog is going at a million foggy miles per hour and my body is able to move much quicker. It feels artificial because of that though like it's pushing something beyond a limit that was put in place for protection by my body automatically and if I keep using it I will crash.

 

[ChrisD]

Just want to add my experience: ME/Lyme since 2016, got Long Covid as well in 2021 for a year.

I tried so many things but one of the Main supplements that helped was "Tollovid", I didn't actually buy expensive Tollovid but got E.Lithospermum or Zi Cao herbal tincture instead, which is the same thing but cheaper slightly.

I knew that Tollovid was a 3CL protease inhibitor but wanted to know what the actual active compounds were - one of which I think was Betulinic acid. So then I saw that Betulinic was in Chaga but I had tried adaptogenic mushrooms before and not got on with any - so I bought Betulin birch extract from Ukraine. This also worked well in calming LC symptoms and getting me out of total Bedbound dorsal state.

Then I bought MCS formulas Betulinic Acid which also worked just as well, and finally I just bought a white birch extract capsules which worked nicely too. Because the LC symptoms were just creeping back if I didn't keep on top of them with Betulin of some kind.

I also benefited from drinking Birch Sap which I bought online. I should mention this is not a miracle cure or anything, I'm still homebound and not quite at my baseline before Cov BUT QOL went from horrendous to manageable

 

[Dysfunkion]

Just want to add my experience: ME/Lyme since 2016, got Long Covid as well in 2021 for a year.

I tried so many things but one of the Main supplements that helped was "Tollovid", I didn't actually buy expensive Tollovid but got E.Lithospermum or Zi Cao herbal tincture instead, which is the same thing but cheaper slightly.

I knew that Tollovid was a 3CL protease inhibitor but wanted to know what the actual active compounds were - one of which I think was Betulinic acid. So then I saw that Betulinic was in Chaga but I had tried adaptogenic mushrooms before and not got on with any - so I bought Betulin birch extract from Ukraine. This also worked well in calming LC symptoms and getting me out of total Bedbound dorsal state.

Then I bought MCS formulas Betulinic Acid which also worked just as well, and finally I just bought a white birch extract capsules which worked nicely too. Because the LC symptoms were just creeping back if I didn't keep on top of them with Betulin of some kind.

I also benefited from drinking Birch Sap which I bought online. I should mention this is not a miracle cure or anything, I'm still homebound and not quite at my baseline before Cov BUT QOL went from horrendous to manageable

I can't find any information on anyone else that tried birch bark, in fact you're the first person on a forum I've seen that said they tried it. Do you get side effects from the birch bark capsules?

 

[ChrisD]

I can't find any information on anyone else that tried birch bark, in fact you're the first person on a forum I've seen that said they tried it. Do you get side effects from the birch bark capsules?

No, I Get side effects from a lot of things, but anything Birch seems to agree with me. There are a number of indications to check before one tries of course.

 

[Dysfunkion]

No, I Get side effects from a lot of things, but anything Birch seems to agree with me. There are a number of indications to check before one tries of course.

Very nice! I haven't tried any bark extracts or teas before in general. How's the effects on your energy levels throughout the day and what did it actually help with? Sorry for all the questions, like I said there's very little on those who tried this stuff out there.

 

[godlovesatrier]

Interesting. I've been looking for a replacement for my reishi mushroom as my body has got used to it anyway but it does keep me well and I suspect I'd be a lot worse without it. That or it's the valtrex keeping me well.

My long COVID symptoms respond to molnu. I've had this happen twice so it's not a coincidence. But the ebv induced ME responds to valtrex. The underlying ME I think responds to molnu but that's a work in progress.

I'll check this out thanks.