Intro | What is Shiitake? Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) is a wood-decaying fungus, growing wild on deciduous tree species like chestnut, oak, maple, beech and mulberry. Preferring warm and moist climate zones, shiitake typically flushes in groups rather than as an isolated mycelium species. Originally cultivated using ancient shiitake growing methods on hardwood logs, the mushroom is now widely propagated for commercial use on natural wood pulp, a rice medium or artificial substrate, and less frequently on cut tree logs. For more info about manufacturer of shiitake mushroom extract powder as Raw Material for drinks visit our site. Intro | What is Shiitake? Shiitake is native to East Asian countries, where it has been wild harvested and extensively cultivated as a common edible mushroom variety utilized for thousands of years. Most well-known in their native habitat locations in regions of China, Japan and Korea, the mushroom has been a long-revered food source as well as an age-old folk remedy for many ailments from the common cold to inflammatory related conditions. Pronounced “she-tah-key”, the mushroom is one of the most popular cultivated varieties next to Agaricus bisporus or white button mushrooms.
Valued as a gourmet mushroom by chefs around the globe for its rich flavor and meaty texture, it is likewise also considered a very medicinal species. Found fresh or dried in markets worldwide, shiitake is one of the most convenient to use out of all the medicinal mushrooms. While its not quite as therapeutically potent as others, like chaga or coriolus, these types are also not normally as suitable for culinary purposes. Shiitake is an exquisite tasting mushroom and easy to use in many types of recipes. It is especially beneficial when steamed or heated in soups and stews. This helps to release and concentrate the polysaccharide myco-nutrients into the liquid broth. For increased medicinal potency, it is also frequently consumed as a dietary supplement or hot water extract, usually produced from either the whole fruiting body, the mycelium biomass or isolated bioactive constituents, as is the case with the lentinan extracts. It is important to eat nutritious whole foods and superfoods that keep the immune system functioning optimally so we can prevent major health issues further down the road.
Shiitake is an easy food to integrate into the diet on a regular basis to assist in achieving this goal. Although some of the other medicinal mushrooms have been proven to exhibit stronger immune supporting effects, shiitake is widely available and more familiar to most people. Shiitake mushroom contains a number of polysaccharides that act as potential immune system modulators with qualities that may help to foster one’s defense mechanisms. The most well-known of these myco-constituents is definitely lentinan, but others such as emitanin and KS-2 have also been identified. LENTINAN, first isolated from Lentinus edodes in 1969, is a beta-glucan polysaccharide that can influence immune response by inducing the body’s production of interferon. Interferons are signaling proteins that are released by host cells to defend against and eliminate pathogenic substances. The word interferon comes from the word “to interfere” as it disrupts the continued growth of harmful viruses, parasites, bacteria or diseased cells. Interferons also stimulate other immune cells and is part of the reason lentinan has been shown to promote NK cell and white blood cell activity.
Research investigating the nutraceutical properties of shiitake mushrooms has been ongoing since at least the 1960’s. In this research, lentinan has been the most frequently studied compound found in shiitake or L. edodes mushroom and was actually approved in Japan in 1985 for use as an adjunct in certain therapy treatments. Lentinan extract has been used in combination with other tonic herbs and mushroom extracts, also known to stimulate white blood cells. The three most common of which include reishi, astragalus root and PSK, the active ingredient in coriolus mushroom. Both the concentrated shiitake powders and hot water extracts, as well as the simmered fresh mushrooms, contain lentinan and other polysaccharide compounds in high amounts. The lentinan derived from shiitake has been known to aid in the treatment of other autoimmune disorders including chronic fatigue syndrome. In the book “Shiitake: The Healing Mushroom”, Kenneth Jones dedicates an entire chapter to shiitake and its benefits for CFS. It was discovered over a decade ago that those with chronic fatigue syndrome also appear to have extremely low levels of NK cell activity.