FUNCTIONAL MUSHROOMS
This information is drawn from reliable health and scientific resources and is intended for educational purposes—consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice, especially if you have underlying conditions or are taking medications.
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
- What is Lion’s Mane?
Lion’s Mane is an edible mushroom native to North America, Europe, and Asia, characterized by its shaggy, white, cascading spines resembling a lion’s mane. It’s valued in traditional Chinese medicine, containing bioactive compounds like hericenones and erinacines.
- How Lion’s Mane is Produced
It grows naturally on hardwood trees like oak and beech but is commercially cultivated on substrates such as sawdust, rice bran, or wheat straw in controlled environments to ensure high yields and purity. Fruiting bodies are harvested, dried, and processed into powders or extracts via hot water or alcohol extraction to concentrate polysaccharides and terpenoids.
- How Lion’s Mane is Used in Products
Consumed fresh or cooked in cuisine for its seafood-like texture; in supplements as powders, capsules (500-3,000 mg daily), tinctures, or teas. Often blended in nootropic stacks or functional coffees.
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
- What is Reishi?
Reishi is a woody, fan-shaped mushroom used in traditional Asian medicine for over 2,000 years, known as the “mushroom of immortality.” It contains triterpenoids, polysaccharides, and peptidoglycans that contribute to its immunomodulatory and adaptogenic properties.
- How Reishi is Produced
Grown on hardwood logs or sawdust substrates in controlled farms, primarily in Asia; fruiting bodies or mycelium are harvested and extracted using hot water or ethanol to isolate bioactive compounds like ganoderic acids.
- How Reishi is Used in Products
Bitter taste limits culinary use; primarily in products as powders, capsules (1-6 grams daily), extracts, or teas. Common in adaptogenic blends.
Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis/militaris)
- What is Cordyceps?
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus traditionally harvested from caterpillar larvae in the Himalayas, now mostly cultivated. It’s prized for energy-boosting adenosine and cordycepin, used in Chinese medicine for fatigue and respiratory health.
- How Cordyceps is Produced
Wild-harvested versions are rare and expensive; commercial production uses fermented mycelium on grain substrates or lab-grown militaris strains, extracted for polysaccharides and nucleosides.
- How Cordyceps is Used in Products
In supplements as capsules (500-1,000 mg), powders for drinks, various edibles and food or tinctures; sometimes in pre-workout formulas, coffee or teas.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
- What is Turkey Tail?
Turkey Tail is a colorful, bracket fungus growing on dead wood worldwide, rich in polysaccharide-K (PSK) and polysaccharide peptide (PSP) for immune support, used in Japanese cancer therapies.
How Turkey Tail is Produced
Wild-harvested or cultivated on hardwood sawdust; extracts like PSK/PSP are produced via fermentation and purification for medicinal use.
- How Turkey Tail is Used in Products
In teas, capsules (1-3 grams), or extracts; various wellness recipes.
Antrodia camphorata
- What is Antrodia camphorata?
Antrodia camphorata (Taiwanofungus camphoratus) is a rare Taiwanese fungus growing on Cinnamomum kanehirae trees, used traditionally for liver protection and detoxification, containing triterpenoids and polysaccharides.
- How Antrodia camphorata is Produced
Due to rarity, it’s cultivated on artificial substrates or via solid-state fermentation; extracts are made from fruiting bodies or mycelium using solvents.
- How Antrodia camphorata is Used in Products
In supplements as extracts or powders; used in pre/post-workout or wellness formulas.
King Trumpet (Pleurotus eryngii)
- What is King Trumpet?
King Trumpet, or King Oyster, is a large, meaty edible mushroom from the Mediterranean and Asia, rich in antioxidants, vitamins (D, niacin), and ergothioneine for cellular protection.
- How King Trumpet is Produced
Cultivated on straw or sawdust substrates worldwide; harvested fresh or dried for extracts.
- How King Trumpet is Used in Products
Culinary staple grilled or stir-fried; in products as powders or capsules. Many wellness brands use it as an ingredient.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
- What is Maitake?
Maitake, or “hen of the woods,” is a clustered edible mushroom from Japan and North America, containing beta-glucans for immune and metabolic support.
- How Maitake is Produced
Cultivated on oak sawdust or wild-harvested; D-fraction extracts from mycelium via hot water.
- How Maitake is Used in Products
Cooked in dishes; products as extracts.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
- What is Chaga?
Chaga is a sclerotium (hard mass) on birch trees in cold climates, used in Siberian folk medicine, rich in betulinic acid and polyphenols for antioxidant effects.
- How Chaga is Produced
Wild-harvested from birch; powdered or extracted with hot water/alcohol.
- How Chaga is Used in Products
In teas or tinctures; many wellness products.
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
- What is Shiitake?
Shiitake is a popular Asian edible mushroom, containing lentinan for immune support, used in cuisine and medicine.
- How Shiitake is Produced
Cultivated on logs or sawdust; dried or extracted for lentinan.
- How Shiitake is Used in Products
Cooked in foods; many wellness products.
Agaricus blazei
- What is Agaricus blazei?
Agaricus blazei (A. subrufescens) is a Brazilian mushroom used for immune and anti-cancer effects, containing beta-glucans.
- How Agaricus blazei is Produced
Cultivated in controlled environments; extracted for polysaccharides.
How Agaricus blazei is Used in Products
In many wellness products and skincare products.