Aloha Medicinals Inc. Working To Fight Oil Spills With Mushrooms

Can you clean up oil spills such as the recent BP catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico with mushrooms?
John Holliday, director of research for Aloha Medicinals Inc., believes it is a practical solution that could be available very soon. “We look at the disasters, and we aren’t addressing them in a biological manner, which we can,” Holliday said. “We have the technology to do that, we have the production capacity to do that, why isn’t it being done?”

Holliday, who is one of the world’s leading experts in commercial mushroom production for medicinal and other uses, explains that fungi act as molecular disassemblers in nature. Plants assemble molecules into complex organisms, and fungi come along and break it down into the molecules that it started with.

“Petroleum oil is just complex organic molecules that need to be disassembled,” Holliday said. He explained they can produce mushroom spawn that digests the oil organically, doing a better job than the much-criticized chemical dispersants used in the BP oil spill.

Aloha Medicinals recently hosted a meeting with officials from Sylvan Spawn, the world’s largest producer and distributor of mushroom spawn, and Monterrey Mushrooms, the largest producer of mushrooms in the world, to discuss how they could work together to tackle environmental disasters like oil spills.

“Between all three companies, we have the capacity to produce enough spawn to spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and make a significant impact in the bio-remediation of the oil spill there,” Holliday said. “It’s not being done yet, not because we don’t have the technical ability. We don’t have the political will yet to finance these kinds of industrial breakthroughs in fungal technology.”

Aloha Medicinals produces immunity-boosting health supplements based on special hybridized mushrooms such as Cordyceps Sinensis, a very rare fungus that grows from the heads of caterpillars above 14,000 feet in Himalayan mountains of Tibet. Long prized in traditional Asian medicine, Holliday and his team pioneered a technique to grow these mushrooms in a factory setting, and now produce more of them than are available in the wild.

Holliday has been working to spread these techniques to other areas, from food production in the developing world to manufacturing insulin and other drugs. Aloha Medicinals was recently named the Small Business Exporter of the Year for Nevada by the Small Business Administration, and also received the 2007 Governor’s Industry Appreciation Award, and the 2008 Nevada Excellence in International Business Award.

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Contact: John Holiday, President & Director of Research
info@alohamedicinals.com
Aloha Medicinals 2300 Arrowhead Dr. Carson City, NV 89706 USA
+001 (775) 886 6300

Aloha Medicinals Goes Back to the Past to Battle Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Taking a page from Jurasic Park, new research being conducted by Aloha Medicinals Inc. focuses on reanimating ancient organisms found in ancient coal deposits to find treatments for diseases of today.

Dr. John Holliday, founder and chief scientist of the company based in Carson City, Nev., explained that the past may hold the key to developing new antibiotics to battle drug-resistant bacteria that are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of patients in U.S. hospitals every year.

Antibiotics like penicilin are developed from compounds excreted by certain kinds of fungi. Holliday said these fungi developed this characteristic via natural evolution to help them compete against their main rival on the food chain, bacteria.

For millions of years, fungi and bacteria have evolved together in nature. But Holliday said that changed about 70 years ago with the beginning of widespread use of antibiotics.
“All of a sudden these compounds went from being in the microcosm to being in the mainstream human population,” Holliday said. “The bacteria that normally existed in the human population all of a sudden had an accelerated evolutionary process to develop resistance to the antibiotics.”

Modern pharmacology is struggling to come up with new antibiotics to battle these resistant strains of bacteria. But going back in time may be more promising, Holliday said.
“Since we can’t leap ahead in time and know what sort of antibiotics nature will evolve to compete with these resistant bacteria, we decided to look in the other direction,” Holliday said. “That’s why we are looking into the past, to find out if there are antibiotics that these bacteria don’t have a resistance to.”

Holliday, a renowned expert in medicinal fungi, said they found microscopic objects in coal deposits that resembled fungal spores. They have since been able to reanimate and grow several examples of these ancient fungi that have been in a state of suspended animation for at least 8 million years.

“We have isolated several hundred different species, and we have tried to identify these through DNA sequencing,” he said. “We can see that these are Penicillium strains producing archaic penicillin, but they don’t match the genetics of any Penicillium molds we know today.”
Because today’s bacteria hasn’t been exposed to anything like these ancient strains of fungi, Holliday said there is a good chance they will not have any resistance to antibiotics derived from them.

Holliday said they have found a couple of good candidates that seem ideal for the production of refined antibiotics for human and veterinary use, and others that may be better suited as dietary supplements or antibiotic replacements. They are now testing what bacteria these archaic strains work best against.Where the research will lead, Holliday doesn’t know. But he does think they are on the right track.”We have to look outside of the little box we have been working in for all these years,” he said. “We have basically run out of leads unless we look back to the past.”

Aloha Medicinals was recently named the Small Business Exporter of the Year for Nevada by the Small Business Administration, and also received the 2007 Governor’s Industry Appreciation Award, and the 2008 Nevada Excellence in International Business Award.

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Contact: John Holiday, President & Director of Research
info@alohamedicinals.com
Aloha Medicinals 2300 Arrowhead Dr. Carson City, NV 89706 USA
+001 (775) 886 6300

Cordyceps Used As Natural Immune Booster in Farm Animals

(Carson City, Nev., May 13, 2009) A Nevada company has developed a process that allows livestock producers to replace artificial antibiotic feed supplements with an organic compound made from mushrooms that produces healthier meat.

Aloha Medicinals, a leading supplier of dietary supplement ingredients, is seeking a patent on their process of using a hybridized type of mushroom called cordyceps to boost immune functions in farm animals.

This would eliminate the need for antibiotic supplements which most health professionals have criticized for their role in accelerating the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. Beyond the health concerns, the European Union has banned the importation of meat from animals that are fed antibiotics.

Dr. John Holliday, president and founder of Aloha Medicinals, has been researching the antibiotic and anti-viral compounds present in fungi for many years. His company has pioneered a process to mass produce cordyceps, a very rare mushroom that grows only in Tibet. Inside their facility in Carson City, the company now produces more cordyceps than are harvested in the wild in the entire world.

Penicillin, the first antibiotic and the model for all that came later, originates from fungi. Bacteria, viruses and fungi occupy the same link in the food chain. Because bacteria and viruses multiply faster, fungi have evolved to produce compounds that fight off these competitors in order to survive.

It was the isolation of one of these compounds that became Penicillin. And according to Holliday, that was where medicine took a wrong turn.

“When (Dr. Alexander) Fleming discovered Penicillin in 1928, science went down a very narrow path, trying to isolate single molecules that would have the active properties that we were looking for,” Holliday said. “If we look at using the whole, naturally occurring antibiotic instead of the single isolated molecule, we have better efficacy, lower costs and far less toxicity or side effects.”
Aloha Medicinals has proven that feeding livestock these mushroom compounds does a better job of fighting off diseases without the dangers posed by using artificially produced antibiotics and anti-viral drugs.

Holliday said they have run trials on more than 60,000 head of cattle.
And because these mushrooms are certified organic, meat produced using them would be eligible for export to Europe and other overseas markets.

“We are trying to come up with ways where we can combine the best of two systems, the happy cow in a grassy field, and the 100,000 cows in a feedlot,” Holliday said. “What we are doing is producing a healthier meat, certified organic, and it’s not sick.”

Aloha Medicinals was recently named the Small Business Exporter of the Year for Nevada by the Small Business Administration. The company also received the 2007 Governor’s Industry Appreciation Award, and the 2008 Nevada Excellence in International Business Award.

Aloha Medicinals Awards Scholarships for Mushroom Cultivation Training

Aloha Medicinals Inc, the world’s largest producer of organic Cordyceps sinensis, announces the award of scholarships for advanced spawn making techniques. Aloha Medicinals has awarded full scholarships to 10 qualified applicants to attend a one-month long course on Advanced Spawn Making for the Mushroom Industry to be held at their Carson City, Nevada plant.

This is the only course of its kind in the world, where the applicants are given hands on training in the most advanced aspects of mushroom spawn manufacturing, including spawn making for button mushrooms, as well as many of the exotic strains used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Upon successful completion of this intensive month-long training program the graduates are awarded a certificate identifying them as Spawn Masters; the most prestigious level of accomplishment in the mushroom industry.

Aloha Medicinals typically awards between 12 and 20 full scholarships like this each year. If you are interested in mushroom cultivation, and would like to apply for a training scholarship, please send an email outlining your personal and academic details, your experience and a short description of why you think you should be considered for a scholarship, as well as what you think you would add to the mushroom industry if you are selected. Send application email to john@alohamedicinals.com

Aloha Medicinals Inc. Named Small Business Exporter of the Year for Nevada

2009 Nevada SBA Small Business Award Winners Include Carson City and Ely Honorees

Las Vegas, NV – The Nevada District office of the U. S. Small Business Administration has selected its small business award honorees for 2009, including two Northern and Rural Nevada residents.  They will be recognized at an awards luncheon to be held at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 7, 2009, beginning promptly at 11:30 am.

Rob Dorinson, majority owner and President of Evergreen Recycling, Las Vegas, has been named SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Nevada.

Mary A. Kerner, Lending Administrator for the Rural Nevada Development Corporation, Ely, has been named SBA’s Nevada and Region 9 (Guam, Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona) Financial Services Champion of the Year.

John C. Holliday, founder and President, Aloha Medicinals, Inc., Carson City, has been named SBA’s Small Business Exporter of the Year for Nevada.

Mr. Dorinson has been invited to attend SBA’s National Small Business Week activities in Washington, D. C. on May 17-19 to be recognized with all other state Small Business Persons of the Year. This year marks the 56th anniversary of the SBA, and the 46th annual proclamation of Small Business Week.

Others being honored at the awards luncheon in Las Vegas include:

• Microenterprise Business Person of the Year: Lisa McQuerrey, Owner, Professional Writing Services, Henderson;
• Small Business Journalist of the Year: Connie Brennan, Publisher, Nevada Business, Henderson;
• Minority Small Business Champion of the Year: Janis Stevenson, Business Development Advisor, Nevada Small Business Development Center, Las Vegas;
• Home-Based Business Champion of the Year: Shawn D. Lane, Owner, Cheyenne Marketing, Las Vegas;
• Women in Business Champion of the Year: Carrie Michelle Henderson, President, BEST Agency, Las Vegas.

Page Two – SBA Awards

The nominees are judged by an independent panel of small business leaders on a variety of criteria, including staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales, current and past financial reports, innovativeness of product or service, response to adversity, evidence of contributions to community-oriented projects, and small business advocacy.

Rob Dorinson, Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Nevada, is majority owner and President of Evergreen Recycling. The company specializes in construction waste management, industrial recycling and commercial recycling services.  Dorinson founded his company in 1997, and the company has grown from an initial five employees to seventy-six during 2008.  In January 2008, Dorinson secured $2 million in financing through the SBA’s 504 loan guarantee program to construct a 50,000 square foot Material Recovery Facility in Las Vegas. Evergreen’s operation has been praised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and remains the largest facility of its kind in Nevada, processing and annually recovering 120,000 tons of materials.

Mary A. Kerner, Nevada Financial Services Champion of the Year, is Lending Administrator for the Rural Nevada Development Corporation. Effectively creating and administering a $7 million loan portfolio with a less than 1 percent default rate would alone be worthy of recognition.  However, Kerner has also consistently worked to insure RNDC clients receive the needed business acumen, technical assistance and advocacy required to achieve and maintain success both before and after they have received their funding through RNDC.

John C. Holliday, PhD, Nevada Small Business Exporter of the Year, is founder and President of Aloha Medicinals, Inc. Producing condition-specific dietary supplements for worldwide distribution and reformulation, Aloha Medicinals exports to over a dozen countries, with further international expansion being developed.    Founded in Hawaii, the company moved to Carson City during 2007.  The company has previously received the 2007 Governor’s Industry Appreciation Award, and the 2008 Nevada Excellence in International Business Award.

“This has been a very challenging economy for small companies,” said John Scott, SBA Nevada District Director.  “All of our award recipients this year display a ‘can-do’ spirit when it comes to business staying power, and all have the ability to see beyond the challenges to develop solutions,” added Scott.  “We look forward to recognizing their achievements at the special Small Business Awards luncheon on May 7.”

For reservations to join the SBA and business leaders for the Nevada SBA awards luncheon in Las Vegas on May 7, 2008 at the Orleans Hotel, contact Greenspun Media Group at:  702-990-2448 or sbaevent@gmgvegas.com. The cost to attend this event is $55 per person or $500 for table(s) of 10.

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For more information about all of the SBA’s programs for small businesses, call the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800 U ASK SBA or TDD 704-344-6640, or visit the SBA’s extensive Web site at http://www.sba.gov.

Nevada District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration

400 South Fourth St., Suite 250, Las Vegas, NV 89101.

Aloha Medicinals Inc. Attending Medicinal Mushroom Conference in Ghana Africa

For Immediate Release

Contact: Liza Alvarez, Aloha Medicinals, Inc., 775-886-6300, 2300 Arrowhead Dr. Carson City, NV 89706

Aloha Medicinals, Inc. Attending Medicinal Mushroom Conference in Ghana Africa.

Aloha Medicinals, Inc. is sending four members of its research team who specialize in Cordyceps sinensis production to Accra, Ghana for the 2nd African Conference on Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms taking place March 24-28.

The conference will be attended by mycologists, microbiologists, doctors, government ministries, and other professionals. The agenda includes discussions of the medicinal properties and pharmacology of active compounds, mushroom supplements, and fungal physiology, biochemistry, and genetics.

Dr. Holliday, President and Director of Research of Aloha Medicinals, will be chairing technical sections and presenting the plenary lecture. Dr. Holliday will also be making a presentation on ‘Mushrooms and Health Management’. Cody Bailey will be lecturing on ‘Low Technology Methods of Mushroom Production’, Clint Moreira will present a lecture on ‘Isolation of Anamorphs in Cordyceps sinensis’, and Britt Gianotti will discuss the ‘Reanimation of Archaic Forms of Cordyceps’. The Aloha Medicinals research team has been studying and growing cultures found in 8 million year old coal to find strains of archaic Cordyceps that would be unrecognizable to modern bacteria and virus. The objective is to present the modern disease causing organisms with an antagonist in the form of ancient Cordyceps, to which they have no resistance.