Chaga

Inonotus obliquus

The birch-born ember of the blend.

Where organic Chaga comes from

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is not a typical mushroom but a hardened, charcoal-black sterile mass called a conk, formed where the fungus colonizes living birch trees across the cold forests of the Northern Hemisphere, Siberia, Scandinavia, northern Canada, and the northern United States. It grows slowly over years, drawing compounds such as betulin from its birch host, and is traditionally harvested from the trunk and dried before extraction. THREEE uses organic Chaga, sourced for the blend.

Slow to form on the birch, quiet in the cup.

What the research explores

Review of Chaga's bioactive compounds and reported properties

This review catalogues the bioactive compounds identified in Inonotus obliquus, including polysaccharides, triterpenoids, polyphenols, and lignin metabolites, and notes that the exact mechanisms behind most of its reported effects remain not well understood and require further study.

Tee PY, Tang YQ, Fung SY, Adeline CYY, et al., Mycology, 2023. PMID 38813471.

Overview of Chaga's nutraceutical chemistry and antimicrobial activity

This overview describes the medicinal and nutraceutical chemistry of Inonotus obliquus and reports that water and ethanolic extracts showed antibacterial activity in laboratory testing, an effect the authors characterize as moderate to weak across the bacterial species examined.

Camilleri E, Blundell R, Baral B, Karpinski TM, Aruci E, Atrooz OM, Heliyon, 2024. PMID 39170453.

Chaga polysaccharides and physical fatigue markers in mice

In this animal study, mice given Inonotus obliquus polysaccharides showed increased liver and muscle glycogen content alongside decreased blood lactic acid and serum urea nitrogen after exercise compared with untreated controls.

Yue Z, Xiuhong Z, Shuyan Y, Zhonghua Z, J Tradit Chin Med, 2015. PMID 26427119.

These studies describe the mushroom in research settings, not THREEE or its outcomes. They are provided for transparency and education. They have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results vary.

What organic Chaga brings to the cup

Organic Chaga contributes the triterpenoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides characteristic of the birch-grown conk, the same compound families documented across the published literature. In THREEE, it sits among ten organic mushrooms as part of the foundation of the daily cup.

The THREEE truth

Organic Chaga is one of ten mushrooms in the fully disclosed 520mg organic mushroom blend present in every cup of THREEE.

A short history

16th c.
Chaga recorded in folk use across Siberia, the Baltics, and northern Europe, typically prepared as a steeped decoction.
1955
Soviet authorities approve a Chaga-derived preparation, Befungin, for clinical use, prompting wider scientific interest.
1960s
Researchers isolate betulin and betulinic acid, linking Chaga's chemistry to its birch host.
2015
An animal study examines Inonotus obliquus polysaccharides and physical-fatigue markers in mice (PMID 26427119).
2023-2024
Comprehensive reviews in Mycology and Heliyon catalogue Chaga's bioactive compounds and note that many mechanisms remain under study.

A closer look at one landmark study.

A 2023 review in the journal Mycology surveyed the therapeutic literature on Inonotus obliquus, organizing the fungus's reported activities by the compound classes responsible for them. The authors describe polysaccharides, triterpenoids, polyphenols, and lignin metabolites as the principal bioactive constituents identified in Chaga extracts. They also state plainly that the exact underlying mechanisms for most of the mushroom's reported effects are still not well understood. The review concludes that further research is needed to clarify how these compounds behave when consumed, particularly as food rather than in isolated form.

Tee PYE, Tang YQ, Fung SY, Chia AYY. Therapeutic properties of Inonotus obliquus (Chaga mushroom): A review. Mycology. 2023;15(2):144–161. doi:10.1080/21501203.2023.2260408. PMID 38813471.

One of ten. All in one cup.

Organic Chaga is in the blend whether or not you think about it. It is in every cup, listed by weight, no asterisk required. When you are ready, it will be there.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.