Tiger milk mushroom: What's so special about them?

How if I tell you a drop of milk from a tiger could lead to the growth of a unique jungle mushroom? According to Malaysian Aboriginal folklore, the Tiger Milk Mushroom (TMM) or Lignosus Rhinocerus originates from a tigress milk that dropped onto the forest floor, this myth surrounding Lignosus Rhinocerus might have risen from the fact that the fungus is extremely hard to find.

So why is this rare mushroom so important? The aborigines and the early Malaysian Chinese have traditionally believed the TMM to have healing properties and have used it for generations to create their medicines?

According to research, TMM has been used for over hundreds of years. However, it is difficult to find (Nallathamby et al. 2018). Yes, it is indeed very rare and scarce like our True Love. The ability to find TMM by our own in our lifetime is very much depend on luck. There is a legend saying this is the wonder of nature, is a gift from the God.

According to local belief, some cancer patients could not get well even after the medical treatment but the local people have their own way. They will grind the TMM and rub it on tumour where they believe that it helps to heal the tumour. Secondly, TMM also serves as an energy source. Even if they work in the forest with empty stomach, they could still carry wood in the afternoon because they have consumed raw tiny bites of TMM without mixing with other ingredients. This precious TMM is the Malaysia’s National Treasure due to its wide range of health benefits when consumed.

Tiger Milk Mushroom is known as cendawan susu rimau or cendawan susu harimau in Bahasa Malaysia (Lee et al. 2012). They grow in areas with humidity levels over 80% and can be found mainly in Genting Highlands and Kuala Lipis in Pahang and Perak.



Tiger Milk Mushroom consists of three parts: cap (pileus), stem (stipe), and tuber (sclerotium) (Lai et al. 2013). The sclerotium is a compacted mass of fungal mycelium containing food reserves while the cap and steam are woody. The sclerotium is white and yield a milk-like solution and it is even tastes like milk.

Tiger Milk Mushroom is not a medicine but rather a functional food. So, what are the health benefit of consuming these Malaysia National Treassure?





Last but not least, all the nutritive value of Tiger Milk Mushroom is definitely worth your try.

Thank you. Have a nice day. Peace.

Reference
Jamil, N.A.M., Rahmad, N., Rashid, N.M.N., Yusoff, M.H.T.M., Shaharuddin, N.S. and Saleh, N.M., 2013. LCMS-QTOF Determination of Lentinan-Like 𝛽-D-Glucan Content Isolated by Hot Water and Alkaline Solution from Tiger’s Milk Mushroom, Termite Mushroom, and Selected Local Market Mushrooms. Journal of Mycology, 2013 (718963).

Johnathan, M., Gan, S.H., Ezumi, M.F., Faezahtul, A.H. and Nurul, A.A., 2016. Phytochemical profiles and inhibitory effects of Tiger Milk mushroom (Lignosus rhinocerus) extract on ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation in a rodent model of asthma. BMC Complement Alternative Medicine, 16 (1), 167.

Lai, W.H., Loo, S.S., Rahmat, N., Shaharuddin, S., Daud, F., Zamri, Z. and Saleh, N.M, 2013. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of wild Tiger’s milk mushroom (Lignosus rhinocerus) collected from Pahang, Malaysia and its nutritional value and toxic metal content. International Food Research Journal, 20 (5), 2301-2307.

Lee, M.L., Tan, N.H., Fung, S.Y., Tan, C.S. and Ng, S.T., 2012. The Antiproliferative Activity of Sclerotia of Lignosus rhinocerus (Tiger Milk Mushroom). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012 (697603), 1-5.

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Muhamad, S.A., Muhammad, N.S., Ismail, N.D.A., Mohamud, R., Safuan, S., Nurul, A.A., 2019. Intranasal administration of Lignosus rhinocerotis (Cooke) Ryvarden (Tiger Milk mushroom) extract attenuates airway inflammation in murine model of allergic asthma. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 17 (5), 3867-3876.

Nallathamby, N., Phan, C.W., Seow, S.L.S., Baskaran, A., Lakshmanan, H., Malek, S.N.A. and Sbaratnam, V., 2018. A Status Review of the Bioactive Activities of Tiger Milk Mushroom Lignosus rhinocerotis (Cooke) Ryvarden. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8 (998).

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Yap, H.Y., Aziz, A.A., Fung, S.Y., Ng, S.T., Tan, C.S. and Tan, N. H., 2014. Energy and nutritional composition of Tiger milk mushroom (Lignosus tigris Chon S. Tan) sclerotia and the antioxidant activity of its extracts. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 11 (6), 602–607.

Zaila, C.F.S., Zuraina, M.Y.F., Norfazlina, M.N., Mun, L.L., Nurshahirah, N., Florinsiah, L. and Rajab, N.F., 2013. Antiproliferative Effect of Lignosus rhinocerotis, the Tiger Milk Mushroom on HCT 116 Human Colorectal Cancer Cells. The Open Conference Proceedings Journal 4 (Suppl-2, M16), 65-70.