Edible Mushrooms: Improving Human Health and Promoting Quality Life

Abstract

Mushrooms have been consumed since earliest history; ancient Greeks believed that mushrooms provided strength for warriors in battle, and the Romans perceived them as the “Food of the Gods.” For centuries, the Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health food, an “elixir of life.” They have been part of the human culture for thousands of years and have considerable interest in the most important civilizations in history because of their sensory characteristics; they have been recognized for their attractive culinary attributes. Nowadays, mushrooms are popular valuable foods because they are low in calories, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium: also, they are cholesterol-free. Besides, mushrooms provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, proteins, and fiber. All together with a long history as food source, mushrooms are important for their healing capacities and properties in traditional medicine. It has reported beneficial effects for health and treatment of some diseases. Many nutraceutical properties are described in mushrooms, such as prevention or treatment of Parkinson, Alzheimer, hypertension, and high risk of stroke. They are also utilized to reduce the likelihood of cancer invasion and metastasis due to antitumoral attributes. Mushrooms act as antibacterial, immune system enhancer and cholesterol lowering agents; additionally, they are important sources of bioactive compounds. As a result of these properties, some mushroom extracts are used to promote human health and are found as dietary supplements.

Improving Nutrition Utilization and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens Through Solid-State Fermentation of Agricultural By-Products by Aureobasidium Pullulans

“…As a result, low fat, high protein levels and greater freshness of broiler chickens are popular demands in current international markets (Lee et al, 2012). Edible mushroom have exploited for centuries to maintain health, increase longevity and for lots of medical virtue attributed to their biologically active compounds (Valverde et al, 2015). Pleurotus eryngii (P. eryngii) have rapidly become a highly valued source of dietary fiber and other nutrients in Europe, Asia and North America .…”

Detection of a Non-animal Source of Glycosaminoglycans from Edible Mushrooms in Northern Thailand

“…This inconsistency may be due to limitations of the extraction or detection methods used. Most mushrooms are high in protein, providing a good dietary source (Sanmee et al, 2003;Valverde et al, 2015;Li et al, 2017). Nevertheless, we only detected amino acids in some of the mushroom extracts.…”

“…Besides their nutritional value, mushrooms contain biologically active compounds with beneficial properties (Valverde et al, 2015;Filipa et al, 2017). For instance, numerous mushroom extracts have been shown to contain antioxidants, including phenolic compounds, vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoid (Ferreira et al, 2009).…”

“…In addition, several kinds of cultivated or local edible mushrooms exist in northern Thailand, such as Astraeus hygrometricus, Lentinus polychrous, Phaeogyroporus portentosus, and Russula species (Sanmee et al, 2003;Valverde et al, 2015). Although the nutritive value of these mushrooms has been investigated, the presence of phytochemicals and GAGs has not been examined.…”

Effect of Nutritive Media and PH on in vitro Mycelial Growth of some Pleurotus eryngii Strains

“…Many countries have undertaken to grow it commercially. Besides its major nutritive qualities, P. eryngii is a mushroom of biomedical importance, containing a number of bioactive components which activate the immune system for a multitude of defensive functions (Valverde et al, 2015). P. eryngii represents a new species for Romanian growers.…”