The target of the present review is to draw attention to many critically important unsolved problems in the future development of medicinal mushroom science in the twenty-first century. Special attention is paid to mushroom polysaccharides. Many, if not all, higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms contain biologically active polysaccharides in fruit bodies, cultured mycelium, and cultured broth. The data on mushroom polysaccharides are summarized for approximately 700 species of higher Hetero- and Homobasidiomycetes. The chemical structure of polysaccharides and its connection to antitumor activity, including possible ways of chemical modification, experimental testing and clinical use of antitumor or immunostimulating polysaccharides, and possible mechanisms of their biological action, are discussed. Numerous bioactive polysaccharides or polysaccharide–protein complexes from medicinal mushrooms are described that appear to enhance innate and cell-mediated immune responses and exhibit antitumor activities in animals and humans. Stimulation of host immune defense systems by bioactive polymers from medicinal mushrooms has significant effects on the maturation, differentiation, and proliferation of many kinds of immune cells in the host. Many of these mushroom polymers were reported previously to have immunotherapeutic properties by facilitating growth inhibition and destruction of tumor cells. While the mechanism of their antitumor actions is still not completely understood, stimulation and modulation of key host immune responses by these mushroom polymers appears central. Particularly and most importantly for modern medicine are polysaccharides with antitumor and immunostimulating properties. Several of the mushroom polysaccharide compounds have proceeded through phases I, II, and III clinical trials and are used extensively and successfully in Asia to treat various cancers and other diseases. A total of 126 medicinal functions are thought to be produced by medicinal mushrooms and fungi including antitumor, immunomodulating, antioxidant, radical scavenging, cardiovascular, antihypercholesterolemia, antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal, detoxification, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic effects.

Current findings, future trends, and unsolved problems in studies of medicinal mushrooms

The main target of the present review is to draw attention to the current perspectives, advances, evidences, challenges, and future development of medicinal mushroom science in the 21 st century. Medicinal mushrooms and fungi are thought to possess approximately 130 medicinal functions, including antitumor, immunomodulating, antioxidant, radical scavenging, cardiovascular, anti-hypercholesterolemic, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, antifungal, detoxification, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic effects. Many, if not all, higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms contain biologically active compounds in fruit bodies, cultured mycelium, and cultured broth. Special attention is paid to mushroom polysaccharides. The data on mushroom polysaccharides and different secondary metabolites are summarized for approximately 700 species of higher hetero- and homobasidiomycetes. Numerous bioactive polysaccharides or polysaccharide-protein complexes from the medicinal mushrooms described appear to enhance innate and cell-mediated immune responses, and exhibit antitumor activities in animals and humans. Whilst the mechanism of their antitumor actions is still not completely understood, stimulation and modulation of key host immune responses by these mushroom compounds appear central. Polysaccharides and low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites are particularly important due to their antitumor and immunostimulating properties. Several of the mushroom compounds have been subjected to Phase I, II, and III clinical trials, and are used extensively and successfully in Asia to treat various cancers and other diseases. Special attention is given to many important unsolved problems in the study of medicinal mushrooms.

https://minnesotamycologicalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Medicinal-Mushroom-Science.pdf

Medicinal mushroom science: Current perspectives, advances, evidences, and challenges.

The Basidiomycota constitutes a major phylum of the kingdom Fungi and is second in species numbers to the Ascomycota. The present work provides an overview of all validly published, currently used basidiomycete genera to date in a single document. An outline of all genera of Basidiomycota is provided, which includes 1928 currently used genera names, with 1263 synonyms, which are distributed in 241 families, 68 orders, 18 classes and four subphyla. We provide brief notes for each accepted genus including information on classification, number of accepted species, type species, life mode, habitat, distribution, and sequence information. Furthermore, three phylogenetic analyses with combined LSU, SSU, 5.8s, rpb1, rpb2, and ef1 datasets for the subphyla Agaricomycotina, Pucciniomycotina and Ustilaginomycotina are conducted, respectively. Divergence time estimates are provided to the family level with 632 species from 62 orders, 168 families and 605 genera. Our study indicates that the divergence times of the subphyla in Basidiomycota are 406–430 Mya, classes are 211–383 Mya, and orders are 99–323 Mya, which are largely consistent with previous studies. In this study, all phylogenetically supported families were dated, with the families of Agaricomycotina diverging from 27–178 Mya, Pucciniomycotina from 85–222 Mya, and Ustilaginomycotina from 79–177 Mya. Divergence times as additional criterion in ranking provide additional evidence to resolve taxonomic problems in the Basidiomycota taxonomic system, and also provide a better understanding of their phylogeny and evolution.

/pdf/notes-outline-and-divergence-times-of-basidiomycota-41rounhft0.pdf

Notes, outline and divergence times of Basidiomycota

With an increasing human population and environmental degradation, the world faces a major problem in providing adequate animal based proteins. Many traditional societies have used or still use insects as a protein source, while westernized societies are reluctant to use insects, despite being the major consumers of animal proteins. We now need to consider insects as a source of food for humans in a manner that acknowledges both the role of entomophagy in indigenous societies and the need for westernized societies to reduce the size of their environmental footprint with regard to food production. The situation on continents such as Africa, Asia, and Central and South America has some parallels to Australia in that there are two forces in operation: the sustainable traditional use of edible insects and the “westernization” of these societies leading to a movement away from entomophagy. However, the potential to reach a compromise is greater in these continents because entomophagy is already accepted. The major challenges will be establishing sustainable production systems that include food safety and security as well as environmental protection. Whether this will happen or not will depend upon: (i) a major change in attitude in westernized societies towards entomophagy; (ii) pressure to conserve remaining habitats in a sustainable manner; (iii) economic impetus to develop food production systems that include insects; and (iv) an acknowledgement that achieving adequate nutrition on a global basis will involve different diets in much of the developed world.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-5967.2009.00239.x

Edible insects: Traditional knowledge or western phobia?

An entomopathogenic fungus, Cordyceps sp. has been known to have numerous pharmacological and therapeutic implications, especially, in terms of human health making it a suitable candidate for ethno-pharmacological use. Main constituent of the extract derived from this fungus comprises a novel bio-metabolite called as Cordycepin (3'deoxyadenosine) which has a very potent anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The current review discusses about the broad spectrum potential of Cordycepin including biological and pharmacological actions in immunological, hepatic, renal, cardiovascular systems as well as an anti-cancer agent. The article also reviews the current efforts to delineate the mechanism of action of Cordycepin in various bio-molecular processes. The study will certainly draw the attention of scientific community to improve the bioactivity and production of Cordycepin for its commercial use in pharmacological and medical fields.

/pdf/pharmacological-and-therapeutic-potential-of-cordyceps-with-3nvqrrg5l9.pdf

Pharmacological and therapeutic potential of Cordyceps with special reference to Cordycepin

This review looks in depth at the history and medicinal value of the Cordyceps spe- cies, especially C. sinensis. The C. sinensis medicinal species, with a long history of use, has only been found growing from the head of one type of subterranean caterpillar, at high altitudes, in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Because of this highly specifi c growth environment and restricted geographical distribution, C. sinensis has a long reputation of being the single-most expensive raw material used in Oriental Medicine. Due to environmental and ecological factors, the annual harvest has been steadily declining, while at the same time the worldwide demand has been increasing. This situation has driven Cordyceps spp. prices into an ever-increasing spiral over the last few years, driving research to deter- mine ways of cultivating it to make it a more affordable material for commercial trade. Part of the goal of this research has been to understand the complex biological niche such an organism fi lls. This is a mushroom that is only found in cohabitation with the larvae of an insect, and it is this unique growth parameter that has made it challenging to produce Cordyceps spp. in artifi cial cultivation. Further complicating this cultivation issue is the rarefi ed atmosphere, mineral-rich soil, and low temperature in which Cordyceps naturally grows, resulting in a unique profi le of secondary metabolites possessing interesting biological potential for medical exploitation, but which are not readily reproduced in normal laboratory cultivation. In this article, we attempt to unravel many of the mysteries of Cordyceps spp., detailing the history, medicinal uses, chemical composition, and cultivation of Cordyceps spp., with special attention to C. sinensis, the world's most costly medicinal mushroom.

Medicinal Value of the Caterpillar Fungi Species of the Genus Cordyceps (Fr.) Link (Ascomycetes). A Review

Analysis of Quality and Techniques for Hybridization of Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.)Sacc. (Ascomycetes)

Immune enhancement through the use of natural products is a potentially valuable therapeutic mo- dality in HIV-infected people, especially those who are not good candidates for aggressive ARV therapy. One such immune enhancement, a medicinal mushroom product from the United States, is Immune Assist 24/7™. In this study the effect of Immune Assist 24/7™, which is a naturally derived immune-modulating and antiviral agent, on CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts was evaluated in 8 HIV-infected patients at the Sunyani Regional Hospital (Ghana). The subjects were administered three tablets of 800 mg Immune Assist 24/7™ once daily (2.4 g/day) and peripheral blood samples were drawn at baseline, day 30, and day 60, and the CD4+ count measured. The study revealed that Immune Assist 24/7™, used as a sole therapeutic agent without additional ARV drugs, significantly increased CD4+ T-lymphocyte populations in all of the patients. In one patient, the CD4+ T-lymphocyte count went from 4 at the baseline, to 170 cells in 60 days, representing an increase of more than 4000%. In another patient, the CD4+ count went from 88 to 470 cells within the same period. Even in the patients with the highest CD4+ counts of around 800, there was a significant elevation in the CD4+ count noted. This study did not deal with the effect of Immune Assist 24/7™ on other immune parameters such as CD3+ T-lymphocyte count, natural killer cells count, or viral load among HIV-infected patients. These initial results are promising, and indicate the potential value of further evaluating the effects of Immune Assist 24/7™ on other immune parameters and viral load among HIV patients, administered either as a sole therapeutic agent, as an adjuvant with standard ARV therapy, or in comparison with standard ARV therapy alone.

Effect of Immunomodulating and Antiviral Agent of Medicinal Mushrooms (Immune Assist 24/7 TM ) on CD4+ T-Lymphocyte Counts of HIV-Infected Patients

The morphological and cultural characteristics of vegetative mycelia of 29 Tibetan strains of medicinal caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (= Cordyceps sinensis) were studied. Data on mycelial growth of the above-mentioned fungi strains on different types of nutrients, the macro- and micromorphological description of colonies grown on different agar media, and anamorph stage identification are provided. It was shown that strains of O. sinensis demonstrated moderately slow growth on selected nutrients compared with other ascomycetous fungi. The highest growth rate value from all analyzed strains is O. sinenis N14-2.7 mm/day was completed with a mycelial run on potato-dextrose agar (pH = 6.0) in 15 d. Most of the examined strains preferred Sabourauns dextrose agar; some of the strains preferred potato-dextrose agar as the medium for optimal development. The least favorable nutrient for all strains was Czapek solution agar. Analyses of morphological and microstructural peculiarities on different types of nutrients were conducted and detailed descriptions and illustrations were provided. Based on macro- and micromorphological characteristics, the investigated strains were identified as Hirsutella sinensis and Tolypocladium sinensis species, which were identified as the anamorphs of Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

Growth and cultural-morphological characteristics of vegetative mycelia of medicinal caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis G.H. Sung et al. (Ascomycetes) isolates from Tibetan plateau (P.R.China).

Two different strains of Cordyceps sinensis are placed at two different locations in a medium containing purified rattle snake venom and the two strains are allowed to grow until they meet in a boundary zone where a hybrid strain is formed due to exchange of genetic material. The hybrid strain is allowed to grow and is harvested and can be analyzed for the presence and quantity of desired medicinal substances. The amount of N 6 -(2-hydroxyethyl)-adenosine in a Cordyceps sinensis strain or product sample is a reliable indicator of the overall health benefiting qualities of the strain or sample. Strains of Cordyceps sinensis , are grown in a substrate at 20 to 22° C. at sea level atmospheric pressure for 28 to 30 days in diffuse light, and thereafter in an atmosphere containing approximately 50% of oxygen of the sea level atmosphere, at approximately 3° C. with exclusion of light, for approximately 15 to 20 weeks to provide a Cordyceps sinensis product that has the characteristic analytical signature of wild Cordyceps sinensis and includes substantial quantities of the health benefiting compounds of the strain found in the wild.

John C. Holliday

Papers

Medicinal Value of the Caterpillar Fungi Species of the Genus Cordyceps (Fr.) Link (Ascomycetes). A Review

Analysis of Quality and Techniques for Hybridization of Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.)Sacc. (Ascomycetes)

Effect of Immunomodulating and Antiviral Agent of Medicinal Mushrooms (Immune Assist 24/7 TM ) on CD4+ T-Lymphocyte Counts of HIV-Infected Patients

Growth and cultural-morphological characteristics of vegetative mycelia of medicinal caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis G.H. Sung et al. (Ascomycetes) isolates from Tibetan plateau (P.R.China).

Novel method for growing Cordyceps sinensis on a substrate and novel method for hybridizing different strains of Cordyceps sinensis