Edible Mushrooms: A Comprehensive Review on Bioactive Compounds with Health Benefits and Processing Aspects

Abstract

Mushrooms are well-known functional foods due to the presence of a huge quantity of nutraceutical components. These are well recognized for their nutritional importance such as high protein, low fat, and low energy contents. These are rich in minerals such as iron, phosphorus, as well as in vitamins like riboflavin, thiamine, ergosterol, niacin, and ascorbic acid. They also contain bioactive constituents like secondary metabolites (terpenoids, acids, alkaloids, sesquiterpenes, polyphenolic compounds, lactones, sterols, nucleotide analogues, vitamins, and metal chelating agents) and polysaccharides chiefly β-glucans and glycoproteins. Due to the occurrence of biologically active substances, mushrooms can serve as hepatoprotective, immune-potentiating, anti-cancer, anti-viral, and hypocholesterolemic agents. They have great potential to prevent cardiovascular diseases due to their low fat and high fiber contents, as well as being foremost sources of natural antioxidants useful in reducing oxidative damages. However, mushrooms remained underutilized, despite their wide nutritional and bioactive potential. Novel green techniques are being explored for the extraction of bioactive components from edible mushrooms. The current review is intended to deliberate the nutraceutical potential of mushrooms, therapeutic properties, bioactive compounds, health benefits, and processing aspects of edible mushrooms for maintenance, and promotion of a healthy lifestyle.

Impact of Freeze- and Spray-Drying Microencapsulation Techniques on β-Glucan Powder Biological Activity: A Comparative Study

“…According to Herrera et al [ 6 ], the β-glucan content and its physicochemical properties (such as solubility and viscosity) are principal parameters, not only in providing human health benefits, but also in evaluating its impact on the processing and sensory properties of foods when used to produce food products with added nutritional value. Owing to the occurrence of biologically active substances, oyster mushrooms ( Pleurotus species) possess a plethora of bioactive properties including hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral, anti-arthritic, and immune-modulatory ones [ 7 ]. In addition to β-glucan [ 8 ], Pleurotus ( P .)…”

Mushrooms as a Resource for Mibyou-Care Functional Food; The Role of Basidiomycetes-X (Shirayukidake) and Its Major Components

“…However, bioactive lower molecular weight components are also attracting significant attention, since phenylpropanoids isolated from Inonotus obliquus (Chaga), for example, showed cancer cell cytotoxicity [18]. Now, a variety of components from low molecular weight compounds, such as simple phenolics, flavonoids and terpenoids, to large molecular weight components, such as polysaccharides, have been reported as the active principles of mushrooms [19][20][21][22], in addition to bioactive peptides and proteins such as ribotoxin-like protein [23,24]; their roles have been comprehensively discussed by Sanchez [25]. In addition to their nutrient composition, these bioactive ingredients characterize mushrooms as a promised resource for Mibyou-care functional food.…”

Fungal Mushrooms: A Natural Compound With Therapeutic Applications

“…More than 14,000 mushroom species have been identified, divided into 30 genera, and are now thought to be potential medicinal or preventative agents for humans, of which 2000 are edible. 270 species of edible mushrooms ( Kumar et al, 2021 ) ( Neuronal Health–Can Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms Help )…”