What healthy substances were found in mushrooms?

What healthy substances were found in mushrooms?

Jan Kalián

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Fungi contain a lot of active substances: terpenoids, amino acids, vitamins, polysaccharides and many others. Most of remedial fungi contain all eight essential amino acids, and also high levels of selenium, iron, and B vitamins. Fungi contain many different polysaccharides, however we are able to distinguish by tests mainly those that dissolve in water. That is one of the reasons, why it is so difficult to name all the substances that a fungi contain.

Polysaccharides in fungi help to enhance the immune system, lower the levels of cholesterol, show antitumor activity etc. While hot water extracts mainly sugars, including some beta-glucans, glycoproteins and also extracts triterpenes, alcohol is able extract sterols and other substances. That's why it is so reasonable to use double-extraction of fungi to get all the important substances. A, D, E, K vitamins can be dissolved in fats, so it is adviseable to add some oils if a fungi contains such vitamins. Some vitamins are thermostable, while others thermolabile. E.g. C, B1, B2, B6 are the thermolabile ones. Light can destroy A, B2 and C vitamins. Ergosterol, very often found in remedial fungi, is destroyed if the temperature is over 160 degree Celsius.

However, the substances contained differ fungi by fungi, and even in one species the levels are completely different a fruitbody by a fruitbody. In some cases, we even do not know what substances are responsible for the healing effect.