Wild Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail) polysaccharide-K extract
Wild-collected Turkey Tail bracket fungus from Meghalaya's subtropical broadleaf forests, processed for polysaccharide-K (PSK)-rich extract.
| Origin | Meghalaya, India |
| Indian subcontinent | Yes |
| Category | Fungi & Functional Mycology |
| Retail price band | India retail/small-trade extract powder: ₹1,300–₹6,150/kg across IndiaMART listings; premium PSK-standardised capsules internationally (e.g. Nootropics Depot, 45% beta-glucan) run roughly $19.99 per 60–180 capsules, a materially higher per-kg equivalent than commodity powder. |
| Bulk / trade price band | Bulk drum-packed Turkey Tail extract trades around ₹531–₹5,500/kg on IndiaMART (New Delhi, Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad listings); true PSK-assayed (Kureha-patented Krestin-grade) material was not found priced separately in Indian trade listings. |
| Sourcing status | Dossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established |
| Compliance status | Preliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified |
Detailed study
Trametes versicolor is one of the world's most common wood-decay polypores, found on dead/dying hardwood stumps and logs across temperate and subtropical forests worldwide, including India's Northeast. Its polysaccharide-K (PSK, marketed in Japan as Krestin) and polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) fractions are the best-studied bioactive components, historically used as adjunct cancer therapy in Japan under regulatory approval there.
Provenance & producer
Meghalaya's community/clan-owned forests (a dominant land-tenure model in the state) are ecologically suited to T. versicolor's broadleaf hardwood habitat, and wild bracket-fungus collection by local/tribal foragers is a plausible, low-infrastructure sourcing model; however, no specific published record or trade documentation of organised Turkey Tail wild-harvest cooperatives in Meghalaya was located in this research — this should be verified directly with any named collection group before use in marketing.
Market & pricing
Indian B2B listings show extract powder priced ₹531–₹6,150/kg depending on grade and packaging; there is no India-specific data point for PSK-assayed extract specifically. Internationally, PSK/PSP-labelled turkey tail products are sold primarily as consumer capsules/powders rather than by bulk kg price.
Compliance & export
Fungi are outside CITES scope. PSK (Krestin) has regulatory drug status in Japan for specific oncology indications — marketing PSK-extract as a drug claim outside that regulatory context would be a compliance risk. In the EU/UK, Trametes versicolor fruiting-body extract is generally treated as a traditional food/supplement ingredient, but concentrated PSK isolate preparations should be checked against current Novel Food Catalogue status.
Sources
- Turkey Tail extract, ₹531/kg (IndiaMART, New Delhi)
- Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) extract, ₹6,150/kg (IndiaMART, Ahmedabad)
- Polysaccharide-K — Wikipedia
- Nootropics Depot Turkey Tail capsules (international benchmark)
Image status
A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source (File:Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) (2188447891).jpg). Flickr-sourced Commons upload, typically CC BY 2.0 — confirm on file page. Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.