A kind of native fungus rich in selenium, which has shown promise in cancer treatment and prevention research, is being successfully grown in China.

Cultivation trials of the species of mushroom recently passed an appraisal by experts from the science and technology bureau of Shaanxi Province, northwest China.

Ziyang County of Shaanxi, where the selenium-rich fungus was grown near the foot of the Qinling and Daba mountains, is China's second largest source of the element. The soil and even local agricultural waste are very rich in selenium. The county also boasts a pollution-free environment.

Under the guidance of technicians with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ziyang County began cultivating the fungus in March of 2000, using selenium-rich natural raw materials like mulberry twigs, crop stalks and silkworm, sheep and cattle dungs as organic compost, but no chemical fertilizer and pesticides.

Tests show that mushrooms cultivated in Ziyang County are rich in selenium and contain many kinds of nutritious active substances. Scientists have also found that such mushrooms show promise in the prevention and treating of cancer, boosting immunity and postponing aging.

Lack of selenium may lead to cancer, cardiovascular diseases and osteoarthritis.

The compost left over from growing the fungus can be used as organic fertilizer in farming, scientists say.

Ziyang County has planted 100,000 square meters of the fungus this year, with a total investment of 2.5 million yuan (more than US$300,000). A total of 500,000 dry mushrooms are expected to be produced.

Cultivation of the fungus has created job opportunities for laborers in the county surplus to farming since the completion of a project which aims to turn low-yield steep farmland into forest and grassland, local sources say.

China produces some six million tons annually of fungus in general, or 75 percent of the world's total.

Tongrentang, China's leading producer of traditional Chinese herbal medicines, has signed a letter of intent with Ziyang Kangyuan Bio-medicine Engineering Company to jointly develop health foods and new medicines using the fungus produced in Ziyang County.

(People's Daily May 13, 2002)