A fungus widely used in folk medicine in Taiwan - Taiwanofungus camphoratus - has been proven to contain an anti-inflammatory compound whether it grows in the wild or is cultivated, a local research team said Monday.

David Sheng-Yang Wang, an associate professor in National Chung Hsing University's Department of Forestry and the head of the team, unveiled the results of the study at a news conference that was also attended by university president Shaw Jei-fu.

The study was also recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Though T. camphoratus contains some 100 components, the team was able to prove that the fungus, which can only be found in the wild growing on the inner bark of a local camphor tree called Cinnamomum kanehirai, has anti-inflammatory properties through its bioactive compound antrocamphin A.

The study also found that the same amount of antrocamphin A can be derived from T. camphoratus after being cultivated for nine months, Wang said.

In isolating the antrocamphin A compound, the study only solidified the medical credentials of the fungus, which currently sells for up to NT$500,000 per kilo when found in the wild.

It has long been prized in folk medicine for treating liver cancer, food and drug intoxications, abdominal pains and hypertension, but Wang cautioned that because there are no standards used to verify the quality of the fungus sold in Taiwan, big discrepancies exist in the price and quality available.

In the team's study, a lypopolysaccharides (LPS)-challenged acute inflammatory mouse was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the special fungus.

Pro-inflammatory molecule release in the liver of the mouse was suppressed by antrocamphin A, demonstrating its anti-inflammatory activity, according to Wang.