With growing interest in mycotherapy, a lot of you keep asking whether therapeutic effects of medicinal mushrooms are backed by science. In our Western world, science plays a pivotal role in validating health claims, and rightfully so. With a plethora of new products springing to market daily, it is critical to affirm safety and efficacy of supplements and ensure they are produced and tested for the best outcomes.
In Asian geographies medicinal mushrooms have been used since ancient times. For instance, documented references to the reputation of reishi as a health booster date back as far as 2,400 years, and depictions of it frequently appear in ancient Chinese and Japanese artwork. Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians adopted the phrase “the mushroom of immortality” to describe the all-encompassing health support that they deemed reishi could provide.
Biochemically considered, we understand that mushrooms are rich in high-quality proteins, polysaccharides, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, beta-glucans, triterpenes, and secondary metabolites. These molecules have gained recognition for their undeniable role in addressing various health issues such as immunodeficiency, cancer, inflammation, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity.
However, when we look at validating the holistic effects of mushrooms for symptom prevention and treatment, research often falls short. In addition, the research landscape is predominantly focused on animal models and mushrooms are covered inconsistently; some are extensively studied, while others are largely overlooked.
We asked Georges Janssens, Assistant Professor at Amsterdam University Medical Center and researcher in longevity, why this is the case. Georges explained that mushrooms are scientifically under researched due to their molecular richness. The array of bioactive compounds in mushrooms makes it challenging for researchers to pinpoint a direct causal relationship between a specific molecule and its health impact. Another challenge arises from the lack of standardization in both the dosage and production of mushroom supplements. Some supplements are derived solely from mycelium, some from fruit body extracts or powders, while others provide a full-spectrum mushroom product encompassing mycelium, the fruiting body, and the extracellular space.
This situation can be viewed as a double-edged sword: the persistent gap in research, rather than an attempt to hide a lack of health benefits, underscores the potent and enigmatic nature of fungi. These organisms, while seemingly small and rudimentary, possess a deep structural complexity that lends itself to a broad array of therapeutic applications.
With medicinal mushrooms becoming a 30bn USD business in 2023*, the evidence of their efficacy is more than anecdotal. One article that portrays promising results of mycotherapy is A critical review on the health promoting effects of mushrooms nutraceuticals (Ma, G. et al., 2018): 'Overall, we could confirm the spectrum of various health benefits generated by the mushrooms. It is anticipated that with the current knowledges and advancements in nutrigenomics and molecular nutrition, mushrooms could become one of the best acceptable nutraceutical food for daily supplementation.' In another scientific paper, Medicinal Mushrooms: Bioactive Compounds, Use, and Clinical Trials (Venturella, G. et al., 2021), the authors shed light on the reasons for the understudied pharmacological properties of medicinal mushrooms.
At Omphoria, we have witnessed the therapeutic effects of medicinal mushrooms, which have helped countless clients overcome their health challenges. How have medicinal mushrooms benefited you?
