Biology, cultivation, and medicinal functions of the mushroom Hericium erinaceum

Abstract

<em>Hericium erinaceum</em> (Bull.: Fr.) Pers. is an edible fungus of great significance in medicine. It is rarely found in Europe, in contrast, it is common in Japan and North America. Its fruitbodies have been well-known for hundreds of years in traditional Chinese medicine and cuisine. A cradle of <em>H. erinaceum</em> cultivation is Asia. In Eastern Europe is rare in natural habitats, but can be successfully cultivated. Both fruitbodies and mycelia are rich in active, health promoting substances. Tests of substances extracted from this mushroom carried out on animals and in vitro have given good results. They can be used in the treatment of cancer, hepatic disorders, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, wound healing. They improve cognitive abilities, support the nervous and immune systems. Promising results have been reported in clinical trials and case reports about the human treatment (e.g., recovery from schizophrenia, an improvement of the quality of sleep, alleviation of the menopause symptoms). The subject of this paper is to summarize information about the development of mycelium, the best conditions for cultivation of fruitbodies, bioactive substances and their use in medicine.

Chemical compounds of extracts from Sarcodon imbricatus at optimized growth conditions

“…Production of mycelium occurs over the wide range of temperature. Numerous studies have found an optimum temperature for growths of Basidiomycota between 20 and 30°C [22,23]. Obtained result is comparable with those of many kinds of mushrooms that exhibit relatively lowtemperature optima, ranging from 20 to 25°C in their submerged cultures [24].…”

“…2b). For the mycelium growth of different species of higher fungi, the optimal pH value ranges from 5.0 to 6.0, except for the arboreal species in which the optimal pH can be lowered down to 4.0 [23,25]. In our research, the highest amount of mycelium biomass of S. imbricatus was obtained at the initial medium pH = 6.…”

The risk of high mercury accumulation in edible mushrooms cultivated on contaminated substrates

“…The methods of mushrooms cultivation described in this experiment were similar to that commonly used in commercial cultivation (Oei, 2003, Sokół et al, 2016.…”

Identification of Optimal Culture Conditions for Mycelial Growth and Cultivation of Monkey Head Mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: fr.) Pers)

“…H. erinaceus fruiting bodies and mycelia are known to produce several extensive bioactive compounds, including health promoting substances like γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), ergothioneine, and lovastatin (Cohen et al, 2014) with different positive effects on the human body. As reported previously, various substances extracted from monkey head mushrooms have multiple pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, anti-cancer (Gue et al, 2006), and antioxidant activities (Chyi et al, 2005), and can be used in the treatment of cancer, hepatic disorders, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and wound healing (Sokół, 2015). In addition, H. erinaceus offers neuroprotective effects after ischemic brain injuries, peripheral nerve regenerative effects, and enhancement of sensory as well as functional recovery after nerve injury (Wong et al, 2012;Lee et al, 2014;Wong et al, 2015;Wong et al, 2016).…”