Medicinal mushrooms for

By Amol
healthy life .B.Jadhav
MSc ll Botany
 INTRODUCTION :
• Mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body
of a fungus,which grows above the ground on soil or
on its food source.
• They commonly belong to Basidiomycotina (Agaricus
campestris, A. brunnescens, Pleurotus sajor-caju,
Volvariella volvacea etc.)
• Rarely to Ascomycotina (Morchella conica, M.
esculenta).
 History
• The mushrooms were used as food , probably
from 3000 B.C. as per ancient Indian literature.
• The Greeks and Romans described mushrooms as
“food for the god”.
• The cultivation was started in the early part of
18th century in France, but it became a thriving
industry only by 1850 in Paris.
• In India, the first successful experimental
cultivation of mushroom (A. bisporus) was
initiated at Solan (Himachal Pradesh) in 1961.
 Mushroom as nutrition source
• They have high protein, fiber, vitamin and mineral
contens and low fat levels.
• they provide all the essential amino acids for adult
requirements
• Have higher protein content than most vegetables.
• Contain many different bioactive compounds with
various human health benefits
• proteins are 200–250 g/kg of dry matter
• leucine, valine, glutamine, glutamic and aspartic
acids are the most abundant.
• Are low-calorie foods since they provide low amounts
of fat, 20–30 g/kg
• contain high amounts of ash, 80–120 g/kg of dry
matter (mainly potassium, phosphorus, magnesium,
calcium, copper, iron, and zinc).
 CARBOHYDRATES
• These compounds prevent stress on the body
• Fungal B-glucans stimulate the human immune system
and protect from pathogenic microbes and from
harmful effects of environmental toxins and
carcinogens
• They also protect from infectious diseases and cancer
and aid patients recovery from chemotherapy and
radiotherapy.
 Vitamins

• Have high levels of riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin,

folates, and traces of vitamin C, B1, B12, D and E.
• They are the only nonanimal food source that
contains vitamin D
• Wild mushrooms are generally excellent sources of
vitamin D2 unlike cultivated ones
 Medicinal values
1. Good for heart
• Have little fat .
• Absence of cholesterol
• Minimal sodium with rich potassium in mushroom enhances
salt balance and maintaining blood circulation in human.
• Regular consumption of mushrooms like Lentinula,
Pleurotus spp were stern to decrease cholesterol levels.
2.Anti-aging property
• The polysaccharides from mushrooms are potent
scavengers of super oxide free radicals, consequently
reducing the aging process.
• Ergothioneine is a specific antioxidant found in
Flammulina velutipes and Agaricus bisporus which is
necessary for healthy eyes, kidney, bone marrow, liver
and skin
3.Regulates digestive system
• The fermentable fiber and oligosaccharide from
mushrooms acts as a prebiotics in intestine and they
anchor useful bacteria in the colon.
• This dietary fibre assists the digestion process and
healthy functioning of bowel system
• 4.Low calorie food
• The diabetic patients choose mushroom as an ideal
food due to its low calorific value, no starch, and little
fat and sugars.
• The lean proteins present in mushrooms help to burn
cholesterol in the body.
• most preferable food for people striving to shed their
extra weight.
5.Prevents cancer
• All forms of edible mushrooms, and white button mushrooms in
particular, can prevent prostate and breast cancer.
• Polysaccharide-K (Kresin), is isolated from Trametes versicolor
(Coriolus versicolor), which is a leading cancer drug.
• Some mushroom-derived polysaccharides have ability to reduce
the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy , From
mushrooms like Lentinula edodes, Tramtes versicolor, Agaricus
bisporous.
 Agaricus

Pleurotus Lentinus edodes

Thank you