Session 2
Mushrooms & Health: The Journey
Begins
• Moderator: Clare Hasler-Lewis, PhD, MBA, Executive
Director, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science,
University of California, Davis
• Shu-Ting Chang, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Biology, The
Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Manny Noakes, Dip Nut & Diet PhD, Research Program
Leader, Nutrition and Health Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia
Mushrooms and Health:
The Journey Begins
Explore the history of mushrooms’ role in
health over time including cultural,
traditional and medicinal use
Summarize current knowledge and body
of evidence for edible mushrooms on
health outcomes, with a focus on
evaluating evidence from human trials
MUSHROOMS: A HEALTH FOOD
AND NUTRICEUTICALS JOURNEY
Shu-Ting CHANG
Emeritus Professor of Biology
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
I. PRESENTATION
•
•
•
•
•
•
Folk medicinal use
Production and products
Mushrooms as food
Mushrooms as tonic
Mushrooms as medicine
Concluding remarks
• It is well known that we live in an age of human
health issues with leading killer diseases
influenced by lifestyles and dietary intake.
• Human health disadvantages are not limited to
the poor nations or poor segments of the society.
• Even the highly educated, wealthier families in
both less developed and well developed
countries live with health problems.
Percentage of Adult Population
with Diabetes
14
11.6
12
10
11.3
9.7
7.8
8
2007
2010
6
4
2
0
China
U.S.
Sources: The Journal of the American Medical Association,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Mushrooms are a valuable health food and their
derivatives are superior dietary supplements
(nutriceuticals), which have beneficial effects on
a wide range of human ailments.
• The early civilizations of the Greeks, Egyptians,
Romans, Chinese, and Mexicans appreciated
mushrooms as a delicacy, and knew something
about their therapeutic value.
II. Folk medicinal uses of mushrooms
1. China is the cradle of the use of mushrooms as
part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for
several thousands of years. e.g.,
•
•
•
•
Lentinula edodes
Ganoderma lucidum
Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor
Hericium erinaus
Lentinula edodes
1) Folk medicinal uses
Influenza, tumor, cancer, neuralgia,
high-blood pressure, and stomach
ailments, prevent rickets, liver cirrhosis,
reduce cholesterol.
2) Chemical studies
Contains many kinds of essential
amino acids, polysaccharides
(lentinan), large quantities of
potassium and other inorganic
elements.
3) Pharmacological studies
anticancer, antitumors, antiviral effects,
environmental allergies, frequent flu
and colds, soothing bronchial
inflammation, prevent toxication from
acid food.
Ganoderma lucidum
1) Folk medicinal uses
Hepatitis, cough, insomnia,
neurasthenia, indigestion, asthma,
tumor, weakness, debility.
2) Chemical studies
Triterpenes, Ganoderic acids.
Lucidenic acids, lucidone,
ganolucidic acids, ganoderenic
acids, polysaccharides, inorganics,
nucleosides adenosine.
3) Pharmacological studies
Aantitumor activity,
immunostimulating activity,
inhibition of platelet aggregating,
cytotoxic activity, inhibition of HIV
infection.
Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor
1) Folk medicinal uses
Stomach ailments, liver problems,
gastric cancer, heart disorder,
pyrexia and hepatitis.
2) Chemical studies
Glycoproteins (PSK - polysaccharide
Kureha, PSP - polysccharide-pepitde)
and polysaccharides.
3) Pharmacological studies
Antitumor activity, immunostimulant
action, stimulation of macrophage
function, antimutagenic action,
inhibition of HIV infection, antiinjurious effect and liver protection.
Copyright http://it.dbw.cn/system/2011/06/18/053233958.shtml
Hericium erinaus
1) Folk medicinal uses
Gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer,
chronic gastritis and chronic atrophic
gastritis, treating indigestion, and
neurastheneia and general debility.
2) Chemical studies
Containing polysaccharides and
poly peptides, a novel diterpenoid
erinacine, isolated from the cultured
mycelia is known to have a potent
stimulating effect on nerve growth
factor (NGF) synthesis.
3) Pharmacological studies
Stomach ailments, gastric ulcers,
degenerative for neuronal disorders
such as Alzheimer’s disease and for
peripheral nerve regeneration.
Copyright http://it.dbw.cn/system/2011/06/18/053233958.shtml
2. However, folk medicinal uses of mushrooms
have also been known in the western
hemisphere. Species used have:
•
Fomes fomentarius – used to
stop bleeding.
copyright By Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak.
•
Langermannia gigantea, Giant
puff ball – also used to stop
bleeding.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langermannia_gigant
ea.jpg
•
Auricularia auricula – used for
imflamation of eye and throat.
TrekNature Photo www.treknature.com
•
Armillaria mellea, honey
fungus – used as a laxative.
3. In Central and South America, mushrooms
were used by the native populations as food
and medicine and also for generating
hallucinogenic or visionary effects.
•
•
Amanita muscaria, fly agaric –
used for malignant tumours
and for nervous disorders.
Agaricus brasiliensis
(Agaricus blazei) – used as a
health care product for the
prevention of a wide range of
illnesses including cancer,
tumor, chronic hepatitis,
diabetes, atherosclerosis and
hypercholesterolemia.
Copyright http://www.mycelia.be/en
Copyright www.dreamstime.com
III. Mushroom production and
mushroom products
Before 1993, ISMS is the only international
mushroom organization which concentrates
mainly on mushroom production for food
through mushroom science, especially for
Agaricus bisporus. It was considered that
mushroom industry has only one leg – that is,
the production of edible mushrooms.
• The 1st International Conference on Mushroom
Biology and Mushroom Products held in 1993,
in Hong Kong
• After the Conference, the World Society for
Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products
(WSMBMP) , focusing on mushroom biology
and medicinal mushroom products, was
formed in 1993.
• Then the international industry has two legs –
one for edible and another for med.
• The medicinal mushroom industry received a
further boost following the launch in 1999 of the
International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms
(IJMM)
• Two years later, in 2001, the inaugural
International Medicinal Mushroom Conference
(IMMC) was held in Kiev, Ukraine
• IMMCs are held at 2-year intervals, and IMMC-7
was just held in Beijing, 2013.
• The world market value of medicinal
mushrooms and their products was
USD 1.2 billions in 1993
• The current value is estimated about
USD 16 billions.
• There are now four International Mushroom
organizations:
– ISMS
– WSMBMP
– The International Workshops on Edible Mycorrhizal
Mushrooms (IWEMM); and
– International Medicinal Mushroom Conference
(IMMC).
• Like a four-legged horse, these four international
mushroom movements (organizations) have
carried the world mushroom industry forward.
IV. MUSHROOMS AS FOOD
Mushrooms can be regarded as food,
functional food or nutraceuticals.
•
•
Edible mushrooms provide all three properties of
food---nutrition, taste and physiological functions.
Mushrooms are rich in proteins, chitin, vitamins,
and minerals; low in fat with high proportions of
unsaturated fatty acids, and low calories.
The
tremendous
healthy aspects
of eating
mushrooms
The
tremendous
healthy aspects
of eating
mushrooms
V. MUSHROOMS AS TONIC
• On the tonic side, there is a history of
empirical observations relating to the
beneficial effects of mushrooms on a wide
range of human ailments.
• There is growing experimentally based
evidence to suggest that the consumption of
mushroom-derived products increase
resistance to disease and, in some cases,
cause regression of a diseased state.
• The term, “mushroom nutriceuticals,” has been
coined to embody both nutritional and medicinal
features of the products extracted from either
mycelium, liquid mycelium culture and/or fruiting
bodies of mushroom (Chang and Buswell, 1996).
• The effect of mushroom nutriceuticals is mainly
based on the immunological enhancement in the
host. They are not normal food or part of a
regular diet, but fall into a category somewhere
between food and drug.
• Fresh mushrooms can be functional food, but
mushroom nutriceuticals are not.
• Similarly, green tea is a functional drink, but
green tea extracts and its component,
catechins, are types of nutriceuticals.
VI. MUSHROOMS AS MEDICINE
• Nutriceuticals should never be confused with
pharmaceuticals (“real” medicines) that are
almost invariably a defined chemical preparation,
the specification for which is listed in a
pharmacopoeia.
• Pharmaceuticals possess medicinal properties and
are mainly used therapeutically for treatment of
specific medical conditions. Their production and
usage are subject to close control by the regulatory
agencies.
• Some mushroom-derived compounds, e.g.,
Krestin, Lentinan and Schizophyllan, fall into
the pharmaceutical category in Japan
• The first three biologically active compounds
extracted from medicinal mushrooms are
polysaccharides - all ß-glucans.
1. Krestin (PSK) form Coriolus versicolor
mycelia containing (1->4), (1->3) or (1->4),
(1->6)-ß-D-glucan.
2. Lentinan, a high-molecular-weight (1->3)ß-D-glucan from Lentinula edodes fruiting
bodies.
3. Schizophyllan, a high-molecular-weight
(1->3), (1->6) -ß-D-Glucan prepared from
Schizophyllum commune culture broth.
Coriolus versicolor and its products
Lentinula edodes and its products
VII. CONCLUDING REMARKS
• A pyramid model for the mushroom industry
conforms fully to an old Chinese saying,
‘medicines and food have a common
origin’.
• This statement is particularly applicable to
mushrooms whose nutritional qualities, as
well as tonic and medicinal attributes, have
long been recognized.
As a medicine
Illness
Sub-health
As a tonic
Health
As a food
A Pyramidal Model of Mushroom Uses ( Industry )
Main use (function)
Supplemental use (function)
Human health may be divided into three states: health, sub-health and illness; and
mushrooms are relevant for all these states
• Modern medicines may not always provide the
remedies required, and mushroom products
(nutriceuticals) are likely to prove extremely
useful in both alleviating and preventing human
disease conditions.
• Disease prevention is particularly desirable, not
only in having positive financial and social
impacts, but also in maintaining/improving
quality of life and human dignity.
When you go to the moon,
Don’t forget to buckle up
and …
take your Mushrooms and their Products with you!!!
THANK YOU!
South China Morning Post 18/8/13
• The first detailed map of genetic faults that
cause cancers has been published, offering
profound insights into the disease.
• The map describes more than 20 “genetic
signatures”, or patterns of mutation, that alone
or in combination drive 30 different types of
cancer, including brain, lung, pancreas and
breast tumours.
• Mike Stratton, the Sanger Institute in
Cambridge, England and his team studied.
• More than 7,000 genomes from cancer
patients.
• By comparing the DNA of cancer cells with
that of healthy cells in the same patients, they
spotted patterns of mutations that arose in
common forms of the disease.
• In skin cancer, for example, UV light usually
caused a mutation in which the letter “C” in
generic code was changed into a “T”. This
switch could occur at various locations.
• Similarly, the most damaging tobacco
carcinogens turned a “C” into an “ A” to cause
lung cancer.
• The findings are expected to drive research
into the cause of mutations behind each
cancer. One way to do this is to expose
human cells to suspected carcinogens in the
environment to see if the produce similar
patterns of mutation.
The work could also lead to the
development of drugs or dietary
supplements to prevent the cell
mutation!
Mushrooms and Health
CSIRO Animal Food and Health Sciences
Manny Noakes
Mushrooms and Health Symposium 2013
Overview
• The CSIRO Mushrooms &
Health Report
• The rich nutrient profile of the
mushroom
• Mushrooms and health
attributes
• Mushrooms and sensory
properties
• Mushrooms and energy
balance
The CSIRO Mushrooms & Health Report
• What the Science Reveals.
• Publicly available
• ~11,000 published papers were
downloaded into a fully-searchable
electronic (Procite®) database for
analysis.
• An initial screening/filtering of the
data to capture the most relevant
published works resulted in
approximately 3,000 papers which
were evaluated in detail and updated
annually.
Mushrooms – Are They a Vegetable?
• Edible mushrooms are
a unique food,
belonging to the fungi
kingdom
• Generally considered in
nutrition guides as a
vegetable.
• 1 realistic serve is 100g
(3 button mushrooms).
Other vegetables
artichokes
asparagus
avocado
bean sprouts
beets
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
eggplant
green beans
green peppers
iceberg (head) lettuce
mushrooms
okra
onions
turnips
wax beans
zucchini
Mushrooms
• Worldwide, around 25-30 species are cultivated or
sold commercially, although about 2,000 species are
regarded as edible.
• The white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus),
which was cultivated as far back as the early 1700s by
Parisians in caves, is the most widely cultivated form
in the USA, Europe and parts of Asia.
The next most important commercial species are
• Shiitake (Lentinus edodes)
• Straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea)
• Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
• Enoki mushroom (Flammulina ostreatus).
Mushrooms: Macronutrient Profile
The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) - a method of
evaluating the protein quality based on the amino acid requirements of humans – for
mushrooms is approximately 0.66 assuming a digestibility of 70% - moderate quality.
Mushrooms: Micronutrient Profile
Mushrooms and Vitamin B12?
• USDA database suggests that B12 at 0.04μg per 100g,
mushrooms are very low compared to the RDI of
2μg/day. Mattila et al (2001) reported levels of 0.050.07μg.
• B12 appears to be on both the surface and in the
flesh, but majority on the surface of the mushroom
cup.
• The B12 present is bioavailable, in exactly the same
form as B12 in beef liver and fish.
• B12 in mushroom unlikely to be >5% of the RDI.
However, that level may be an important amount for a
vegan over a lifetime. Koyyalamudi et al 2009
Mushroom Consumption and Human Health
Mushroom extracts
• Anti-tumour effects
• Benefits for the immune
system
• Anti-microbial properties
• Significant antioxidant
activities
Few studies on whole mushroom consumption in humans
Mushrooms and Ergothionine Bioavailability
• Ergothioneine (ET) is a sulfur-containing amino
acid that functions as an antioxidant. Mushrooms
are a primary source of ET containing from 0.4 to
2.0mg/g (dry-weight). Bioavailability was
evaluated in an RCT.
• ET was administered through a mushroom test
meal containing 8 g and 16 g of mushroom
powder. (Agaricus bisporus)
• ET was bioavailable as assessed by red blood cell
uptake.
• Trend in the postprandial triglyceride response
indicated that there was a blunting effect after
both the 8 g and 16 g ET doses.
Weigand-Heller AJ, Kris-Etherton PM, Beelman RB. Et al 2012
57 |
Mushrooms and Neurodegenerative Disease
Although very preliminary, new data
showing protective effects of
mushrooms on beta-amyloid peptide
toxicity in the brain and mild
cognitive impairment (both
precursors to dementia) are very
exciting, and warrant further
research on the ability of mushroom
consumption to delay the onset of
dementia / Alzheimer’s disease.
58 |
Dietary Mushroom Intake & Breast Cancer Risk
Shin et al 2010
• Mushroom intake and breast cancer risk were
examined among 358 breast cancer patients and 360
cancer-free controls in Korean women.
• Greater mushroom intake was related to lower risk
of breast cancers among premenopausal women
with estrogen receptor (ER)+/progesterone receptor
(PR) + tumors (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.11-0.79 for the
highest vs. the lowest quartile intake) than those
with ER-/PR- tumors.
• White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporous) are a
potential breast cancer chemopreventive agent, as
they suppress aromatase activity and estrogen
biosynthesis. Chen et al 2006
Mushrooms and Immunity
• Tested the immunological effect of a dietary
intake of white button mushrooms – not
extract or uncommmon species
• C57BL/6 mice fed a diet containing 0, 2, or
10% (wt/wt) white button mushroom powder
for 10 wk
Mushroom enhanced natural killer (NK) cell activity, and IFNgamma and
tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) production.
Suggestive that increased intake of white button mushrooms may promote
innate immunity against tumours and viruses.
Wu et al J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1472-7.
60 |
Mushrooms and Immunity
• Two meta-analyses of RCTs have suggested
that adjuvant immunochemotherapy with
polysaccharide K from mushrooms can
improve the survival of and disease-free
survival of patients with curatively resected
colorectal cancer (Oba et al., 2007, Sakamoto
et al., 2006).
• Reduction of death rate by 29% and of
recurrence by 28% by PSK.
• Mechanism possibly via action of PSK on a tolllike receptor initiating a signalling cascade
involving T helper 1 cells which induce IL-2 and
IFN-γ and then activate natural killer cells.
61 |
Mushrooms and Decreased Colorectal Cancer
Post-Surgical Symptoms
RCT, 6 months, 56 patients post-surgery for colorectal cancer
Dietary supplementation with Agaricus sylvaticus (30mg/kg/day).
Outcomes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
> Physical activity,
Improved disposition and mood,
Reduced pain
Reduced sleep disturbance
Increased appetite
Reduced constipation, diarrhea, nausea
Fortes et al., 2010
Mushrooms and Sensory Properties – Umami
Taste
• Glutamates, and certain 5'-ribonucleotides are tasteactive chemicals responsible for the taste umami – the
5TH flavour of food
• High levels of both glutamates (not as MSG) and
ribonucleotides occur in the cultivated mushroom
Agaricus bisporus
• Glutamate receptors occur on the tongue, but also in
the stomach (San Gabriel 2007).
• Glutamate, in the form of calcium diglutamate, has been
shown to improve the flavour of low sodium products;
suggesting that mushrooms may play an important role
in enhancing the flavour of reduced sodium products.
Mushrooms and Energy Balance
• Substituting mushrooms for beef in a test lunch in normal
weight, overweight and obese adults in a cross over study
with intervention 4 days each.
• Energy intakes were significantly lower during mushroom
lunches (310±5.8kcal vs 730±7.9kcal).
• Total daily energy intakes were significantly lower on
mushroom lunch days.
• Ratings of palatability, appetite, satiation and satiety did
not differ significantly.
• Potential benefits of mushrooms in weight management.
(Cheskin 2008)
Mushrooms and Oral Health
• Tamaki et al Nutr Sci Vitaminol
(Tokyo). 2007.
• Studied the deodorization by
mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
extract of garlic extract-induced oral
malodor.
• Comparative gas chromatography
analysis revealed that the quantity of
methane- and allylthiols that were
usually found after garlic solution
rinse, significantly fell after
mushroom extract rinsing.
Mushrooms and Oral Health
• RCT in 30 volunteers with a fraction of an
aqueous extract of Shiitake evaluated as an
oral mouthrinse. (Signoretto et al., 2011).
• Plaque index in subjects treated with mushroom
better than placebo (water) P<0.05.
• Gingival index for mushroom better than placebo
and Listerine.
• Decreases in total and specific bacterial pathogen
counts observed for both mushroom extract and
Listerine vs. placebo.
Shiitake fraction shown to have strong inhibitory effect on dentin
demineralization and induce microbial shifts that could be associated
with oral health. (Zaura et al., 2011).
Concluding Summary
The common mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is:
• A valuable source of several micronutrients
•
•
•
•
•
•
29-34% of the (RDI) for Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
23-26% of the RDI for niacin per 100g.
A natural source of vitamin D.
22-26% of the RDI for selenium
20-29% of the adequate intake (AI) for copper.
A source of B12
• High in glutamate, which enhances sensory appeal
and may assist sodium reduction.
• Low in kilojoules and nutrient-dense food which may be
useful for weight management.
• Mushroom and mushroom extracts associated with several
health attributes mediated by immune function.
Acknowledgements
Dr Peter Roupas
Pennie Taylor
Christine Margetts
Jennifer Keogh
Deb Krause