Ingredient Spotlight: IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex

Pure, organic and patent-protected, IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex is considered to be the most technologically advanced immune blend for use in dietary supplements on the market today. Featuring a combination of more than 200 highly purified, immune-active high molecular heteropolysaccharides and Beta 1,3-1,6 triple right hand helix beta glucans, IM6 is derived from six closely related organisms—100% USDA certified organic, certified kosher, biotech lab cultivated, full spectrum, non-GMO Agaricus blazei, Lentinula edodes, Grifola frondosa, Coriolus versicolor, Ganoderma lucidum and Cordyceps sinensis.

Each of these species offers a slightly different polysaccharide structure, which activates many more types of immune cells then just simple beta glucans do. While yeast-based beta glucans activate only Natural Killer (NK) cells, research shows IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex activates all 260 different classes of immune cells including: NK cells, T cells, macrophages and many others.

IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex is a combination of both water-soluble heteropolysaccharide and high molecular weight non-soluble triple helix beta glucans. It is fully micronized through a proprietary process to a maximum particle size of less than 40 microns, which makes it instantly bioavailable.

These 1,3-1,6 beta-glucans have a range of molecular weight from less than 20 kD to over 2,000 kD, and are thought to be effective in activating a wide range of immune responses. A tremendous body of reference work exists, indicating over 800 different species of higher basidiomyces fungi (mushrooms) contain immune-modulating and antitumor polysaccharide compounds with this tertiary structure. This has led to the development of a number of drugs of the Lentinan class. These drugs are widely used (primarily in Asia) as adjuncts in the treatment of cancer.

Prior to the introduction IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex, all the mushroom-derived polysaccharide immune modulators brought to market have been derived from a single species of fungi, consisting of only a single molecular weight polysaccharide with single tertiary structure, which indicates the probable attachment to only single immune-triggering receptors at the cellular level.

However, recent advances in immune science have revealed a wide range of different cellular receptors, each of which attach to different structural types and sizes of polysaccharide molecules. This multi-receptor, multi-structure binding indicates multiple mechanism of action in the triggering of immune responses, which is much more complex than was previously thought.

While it has been known since the 1970’s that Natural Killer (NK) cells were activated by polysaccharide triggers, it is now believed that most, if not all, of the different classes of immune cells are activated or triggered by the attachment of either pure polysaccharides or protein-bound polysaccharide molecules to receptors found at the cell surface such as CR3, LacCer, Dectin-1 and other activation receptors. It is this multi-receptor activation pathway that led to the development of IM6 Full Spectrum Immune Complex, which contains over 200 different immune-active polysaccharide structures. This complex polysaccharide formulation is thought to activate the full range of immune response in the human body.