Functional properties of edible mushrooms.
Chang R
Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA.
Edible mushrooms such as shiitake may
have important salutary effects on health or even in
treating disease. A mushroom characteristically
contains many different bioactive compounds with
diverse biological activity, and the content
and bioactivity of these compounds depend on how
the mushroom is prepared and consumed.
It is estimated that approximately 50% of the annual 5
million metric tons of cultivated edible
mushrooms contain functional "nutraceutical" or medicinal
properties. In order of decreasing cultivated
tonnage, Lentinus (shiitake), Pleurotus (oyster),
Auricularia (mu-er), Flammulina (enokitake),
Tremella (yin-er), Hericium, and Grifola (maitake)
mushrooms have various degrees of immunomodulatory,
lipid-lowering, antitumor, and other
beneficial or therapeutic health effects
without any significant toxicity. Although the data for this
functional food class are not as strong
as those for other functional foods such as cruciferous
vegetables, because of their potential
usefulness in preventing or treating serious health conditions
such as cancer, acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS), and hypercholesterolemia,
functional mushrooms deserve further serious
investigation. Additionally, there is a need for
epidemiological evidence of the role of
this functional food class.
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