Intro | What is Agaricus Blazei? Agaricus blazei is an edible medicinal mushroom species that grows wild in various habitats that are conductive to its growth cycle. It is also widely cultivated and used for culinary purposes, sold dried or prepared as a dietary supplement. The mushroom comes from the genus Agaricus and is related to the common white button mushroom cultivar, Agaricus bisporus. Unlike the blazei species, however, white mushrooms are not considered to have potent medicinal qualities. Intro | What is Agaricus Blazei? This particular selection of agaricus is well-researched and known for its high amount of polysaccharide content, specifically the class of beta-glucans. These are structural polysaccharides identified in the scientific community for their positive influence on immune system function as well as their inhibitory effect against inflammation and potential tumor growth. Agaricus is, in fact, up on the list with other chemoprotective mushrooms like coriolus and reishi, commonly used in Japan and China as adjunctive agents in chemotherapy treatment.
Agaricus is also known for its antiviral properties, as well as its immune modulating activity. In some research, extracts of the Agaricus blazei species are shown to have “therapeutic effects against bacterial and viral infection” and were proposed as potential alternatives to antibiotic drugs. Medicinal mushrooms have been used historically as healing tonics as well as dietary food sources for centuries in Asian cultures and are still widely consumed and customarily used in traditional Chinese herbal preparations. Agaricus, like maitake and shiitake mushrooms, is another choice gourmet variety utilized for its exquisite buttery rich flavor, subtly sweet almond-like taste and meaty texture. Dried or fresh mushrooms are typically steamed or likewise added to cooked dishes and soup stocks to enhance flavor as well as the nutritional value of a meal. They can also be infused into hot water for a delicious and earthy tasting brew. For use as a dietary supplement, the blazei species is predominantly used as a powder or liquid extract.
These forms can be added to drinks or hot water for teas or shake elixirs. For more about Supplier of shiitake mushroom extract powder for beverage Ingredients take a look at our page. First officially discovered in the late 1800’s, Agaricus blazei is not a traditionally used therapeutic variety, but has only just recently been incorporated as such in the last century. Found growing wild in Brazil by Japanese researcher Takatoshi Furumoto, the mushroom was re-popularized in the 1960’s as a medicinal edible and further cultivated in Japan where it has been utilized and studied on a larger scale. Wild and cultivated blazei mushrooms have also been used extensively in Northeast America, where they are sometimes called “almond mushroom.” In Brazil the fungi goes by the name “cogumelo do sol” or “mushroom of the sun”, in Japan as “himematsutake” and in China as ji song rong. What is Agaricus Blazei? Agaricus blazei is an gilled fungus from the family Agaricaceae. It is related to the most widely grown and consumed mushroom, the white button Agaricus bisporus variety, also known as cremini or portobella mushroom in its more mature forms.
Aside from the white button’s ability to inhibit aromatase, it is largely void of medicinal properties as it has been reported to have a different composition of polysaccharides which mainly include mannogalactans as opposed to beta-glucans. Agaricus blazei is one of those mycelium strains that prefers warmer climates and partially sunlit areas usually bordering forested canopy regions. Depending on the amount of sunlight, the mushroom cap can range from gold, brown to light brown in color. The yellow-orange pigments become more prominent in both the cap and stem when the mushroom is dried or heated. The mushroom caps, approximately 20-70 mm in diameter, sometimes have a squared-off rounded look. The stipe or stem is typically thick and somewhat bulbous at the base. The best time to harvest the fruiting body for medicinal purposes is before the cap starts to expand or flatten out and release its spores. Although the agaricus mushroom frequently goes by the name Agaricus blazei, there has been some discrepancy among taxonomists about the exact species classification.
According to mycologist Paul Stamets and his website Fungi Perfecti, what many regard scientifically as Agaricus blazei is rather a newly classified species, Agaricus brasiliensis. For the most part, the general consensus is that the species Agaricus subrufescens, Agaricus brasiliensis and Agaricus rufotegulis are all genetically similar fungal strains that were at some point misidentified as the species Agaricus blazei, but still go by this name. Although the name Agaricus blazei is commonly used to describe all three nearly identical mushroom species, its official taxonomy is an entirely different common edible woodland variety that is far less medicinal. These strains were initially discovered in North America, Florida and later South America. The species Agaricus subrufescens was first reported in the northeastern U.S. 1893 by botanist Charles Horton Peck. Later in the state of Florida, it was identified by mycologists William A. Murrill, also called “the Mushroom Man.” The often used name “Agaricus blazei Murrill” is in his honor.