Besides nutritional properties, mushrooms have attracted market attention because they are a potential source of bioactive compounds able to perform several functions in organisms with benefits for consumer health. In recent years Coriolus versicolor aroused interest among researchers because of the bioactive properties demonstrated.
Polysaccharopeptide (PSP) and polysaccharopeptide Krestin (PSK) have shown to be useful adjuncts to the therapy of cancer; these polysaccharides from C. versicolor have also shown prebiotic activity, stimulating the growth of probiotic bacteria. This review article highlights the health-promoting potential of several mushroom species with special emphasis on C. versicolor.
(1) Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal
(2) Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad (CIRENYS), Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Fábrica N∘ 1990, Segundo Piso, Santiago, Chile
(3) CEIL, Lúrio University, Marrere, Nampula, Mozambique
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. Vol. 4, No. 12, 2016, pp 773-781
Keyword ganoderma lucidum
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Some mushrooms have been known to exhibit several medicinal properties for thousands of years in Japanese and other Asian cultures. The Reishi mushroom, also known as Ganoderma lucidum, is well characterized (in Traditional Chinese Medicine) for the prevention and treatment of several disease states such as cancer, allergies and asthma. In the west, Reishi is commonly sold in the extract form. This study shows the difference in the concentration of both enzymes and beta-glucans between one Reishi extract sample and one Reishi biomass sample.
In this two page article, Professor Amin Karmali discusses the role of enzyme content in the biomass form of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) and potential use in histamine mediated allergic response ie. Hayfever. The article compares the enzyme content of an extracted form of Reishi when compared to the biomass form of Reishi when both forms are exposed (in vitro) to digestive enzymes.
Published October 2004 in Nutritional Practitioner Magazine (ISSN 1472-0094).
Allergies and asthma are two examples of histamine-mediated allergic responses. Both conditions are increasing in frequency and are difficult to target with modern medicine. The modern approach to drug research is target specific and does not consider the natural defense mechanisms of the body or the causative factors (a cytokine TH1 to cytokine TH2 shift) underlying histamine-mediated allergic responses. Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) as immunonutrition, with its unique array of compounds working in concert, could play a major role in treatment of histamine-mediated allergic responses.