Mushrooms connection exceptional nutritional worth and potent therapeutic compounds that combat chronic diseases for illustration glucosuria and cancer. Their applications widen beyond medicine to sustainable industries, including bioremediation, biofuels, and nan improvement of functional nutrient innovations.
Review: Harnessing nan Nutritional Value, Therapeutic Applications, and Environmental Impact of Mushrooms. Image Credit: Olena Rudo / Shutterstock
A caller reappraisal published successful nan diary Food Science and Nutrition explored nan bioactive compounds, nutritional value, therapeutic properties, wellness benefits, and divers biology applications of mushrooms.
Mushrooms are good known for their culinary diverseness and nutritional value. Traditionally utilized for illness prevention and maintaining health, mushrooms are now studied arsenic mini-pharmaceutical factories, tin of producing compounds pinch unsocial properties. In nan coming study, researchers explored nan bioactive compounds and nutritional worth of mushrooms, emphasizing their imaginable therapeutic uses, wellness benefits, and applications successful functional foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biology bioremediation.
Bioactive compounds successful mushrooms
Mushrooms incorporate terpenoids, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and alkaloids. Alkaloids grounds imaginable psychoactive and analgesic effects, flavonoids support cardiovascular health, and tannins exert antimicrobial effects. Further, terpenoids person anti-inflammatory properties, and polyphenols person been recognized to alteration chronic illness risk. Mushrooms incorporate lectins and enzymes that heighten immune responses and cell signaling. Mushroom bioactive compounds person shown committedness arsenic dietary supplements successful nan prevention and curen of diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular illness (CVD). The bioactive metabolites successful mushrooms besides play a captious domiciled successful biotechnological processes, specified arsenic fermentation and extraction.
Mushrooms arsenic nutrient sources
Carbohydrates relationship for 50% to 65% of nan creation of mushrooms. Mushrooms incorporate high- and low-molecular weight carbohydrates, including glucose, fructose, sucrose, mannitol, pectin, glycogen, raffinose, and xylose. Mushroom polysaccharides, chiefly β-glucans (which, alongside chitin, comprise 80–90% of their insoluble fibre fraction), amended immune usability by stimulating earthy slayer cells, macrophages, and T lymphocytes. Mushrooms are besides rich | successful macromolecule (18–37% barren weight, species-dependent), containing each basal amino acids and besides uncommon non-essential amino acids specified arsenic γ-aminobutyric acid. As high-protein foods, mushrooms are 2nd only to animal products and tin efficaciously support wide health, musculus growth, and insubstantial repair. Mushrooms besides incorporate basal fatty acids; monounsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, thief alteration cholesterin levels, reducing nan consequence of changeable and bosom disease. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, including omega-6 and omega-3 (notably linoleic acid), are captious for normal assemblage functions and support bosom and encephalon health. Notably, they grounds a ~2:1 ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids.
Additionally, mushrooms are rich | successful high-quality fiber. Soluble fibers, specified arsenic pectin and β-glucans, shape gel-like substances that trap bile acids and cholesterol, preventing their absorption into nan bloodstream and helping to little low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterin and full cholesterin levels. Insoluble fibers, specified arsenic lignin, chitin, and cellulose, supply structural support and thief support digestive health. They are besides rich | sources of B vitamins (especially niacin and B12 [0.32–0.65mg/g successful caller mushrooms]—uncommon successful plant-based foods), vitamin D2 (particularly successful wild/UV-exposed varieties), and minerals for illustration potassium, phosphorus, selenium, and copper—though they whitethorn bioaccumulate dense metals from polluted environments.
Applications successful medicine
Mushrooms are valuable functional foods pinch therapeutic properties. They grounds divers medicinal properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and cardiovascular protective effects. Lepista, Ganoderma, and Boletus species, arsenic good arsenic Lentinula edodes, person been shown to beryllium effective against some gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Potent anti-influenza microorganism activity has besides been observed pinch Phellinus linteus extracts. Furthermore, extracts of Morchella esculenta mycelium person been shown to inhibit inflammation successful rats, and extracts of Ganoderma lucidum person demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects successful rodent models of chronic inflammation. AndoSan™, an extract made from basidiomycetes mushrooms (Agaricus blazei), has shown committedness successful managing inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) and has besides been reported to amended objective symptoms and value of life for patients. Clinical tests person demonstrated neurocognitive improvements pinch Hericium erinaceus and a simplification successful crab mortality pinch Antrodia cinnamomea.
Polysaccharides extracted from Suillellus luridus petioles, fruiting bodies, and caps person demonstrated anti-diabetic effects, including weight loss, enhanced antioxidant activity, and accrued insulin levels, successful mice pinch diabetes. Additionally, polysaccharides from Cordyceps taii person demonstrated hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic properties successful mice, resulting successful weight summation and improved diabetic nephropathy, respectively. Pleurotus eryngii, Dictyophora indusiata, and Ganoderma applanatum polysaccharides show important anti-obesity effects by modulating lipid metabolism.
Anti-cancer compounds person been identified successful mushrooms, including Albatrellus confluens, Auricularia polytricha, Coprinus atramentarius, G. lucidum, and Inonotus obliquus. These compounds person been effective against quality gastric, ovarian, colon, kidney, breast, leukemia, and lung crab compartment lines. Additionally, Agrocybe aegerita inhibited angiogenesis, a captious process successful tumor growth, by reducing nan accumulation of basal fibroblast maturation facet and vascular endothelial maturation factor. Psilocybin from Psilocybe type shows antidepressant imaginable successful psychotherapy.
Environmental and business applications
Mushroom bioactive compounds are utilized successful cosmetic products for tegument lightening and anti-aging, chiefly owed to their expertise to inhibit tyrosinase. Research suggests that mushroom extracts connection singular cosmetic benefits, including nan simplification of wrinkles, pigmentation, and signs of aging. Matsutake mycelium extract helps trim elastin breakdown, wrinkle formation, and elastase activity. Chitosan, derived from fungal compartment walls, serves arsenic a sustainable earthy worldly for antimicrobial nutrient packaging.
In addition, nan debased allergen content, nutritional benefits, and rich | spirit of mushrooms lend to their expanding inferior successful nutrient products, particularly arsenic nutrient analogs. Mushroom-based nutrient analogs person been developed by combining soybean macromolecule isolate pinch edible mushrooms, including Pleurotus ostreatus, L. edodes, and Coprinus comatus.
A study demonstrated that fermenting lentil flour pinch P. ostreatus enhanced its digestibility and nutritional value, resulting successful a 6% simplification successful carbohydrate contented and increases of 18.5% and 53% successful macromolecule and phenolic compounds, respectively. Mushrooms heighten phenolic compounds successful fermented foods done phenol oxidase secretion, mycelium synthesis, and amino acerb deamination. Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is valorized arsenic a protein-rich animal feed, thereby improving nan digestibility of cultivation residues for livestock.
A awesome uncovering is nan domiciled of mushrooms successful biology bioremediation. Pleurotus type degrade business pollutants (dyes, pesticides, crude oil) and dense metals utilizing enzymes for illustration laccase. SMS is converted to biofuels (bioethanol, biogas, biohydrogen), supporting information economies.
Concluding remarks
Together, mushrooms are poised to revolutionize various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, food, biology sustainability, and healthcare. Novel bioactive compounds unveil possibilities to create caller therapies targeting CVD, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Their abilities successful chronic illness guidance position mushrooms arsenic captious components successful personalized wellness and nutrition solutions. Technological advances will further heighten nan multifunctional applications of mushrooms successful medicine, nutrient production, cosmetics, and biology remediation.
Journal reference:
- Fitsum S, Sbhatu DB, Gebreyohannes G (2025). Harnessing nan Nutritional Value, Therapeutic Applications, and Environmental Impact of Mushrooms. Food Science & Nutrition, 13(7), e70611. DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.70611, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fsn3.70611