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Pulsed UV light (PUV) was investigated as a means to rapidly increase vitamin D(2) (D(2)) content in fresh button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). D(2) was found to increase to over 100% RDA/serving following 3 pulses (1 s). Following 12 pulses, D(2) began to approach a maximum concentration of 27 μg/g DW. The D(2) produced with 3 pulses decreased from 11.9 to 9.05 μg/g DW after 3 days of storage; however, D(2) levels remained nearly constant after this point throughout an 11-day shelf life study. PUV treated sliced mushrooms produced significantly more D(2) than whole mushrooms, and it was also observed that brown buttons generated significantly less D(2) than white buttons. Several quality attributes were assessed, and no significant differences between control and PUV treated mushrooms were observed. These findings suggest that PUV treatment is a viable method for rapidly increasing the D(2) content of fresh mushrooms without adversely affecting quality parameters.

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Adults with metabolic syndrome from different race/ethnicities are often predisposed to developing type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, growing evidence suggests that healthy diets and lifestyle choices can significantly slow or prevent progression to T2D. This poorly understood relationship to healthy dietary patterns and prevention of T2D motivated us to conduct a retrospective analysis to determine the potential impact of a minor dietary lifestyle change (daily mushroom consumption) on known T2D risk factors in racially diverse adults with confirmed features of the metabolic syndrome. Retrospectively, we studied 37 subjects who had participated in a dietary intervention focused on vitamin D bioavailability from white button mushrooms (WBM). All 37 had previously completed a 16-week study where they consumed 100 g of WBM daily and were then followed-up for one month during which no mushrooms were consumed. We analyzed differences in serum risk factors from baseline to 16-week, and from baseline to one-month follow-up. Measurement of serum diabetic risk factors included inflammatory and oxidative stress markers and the antioxidant component naturally rich in mushrooms, ergothioneine. Significant beneficial health effects were observed at 16-week with the doubling of ergothioneine from baseline, increases in the antioxidant marker ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) and anti-inflammatory hormone, adiponectin and significant decreases in serum oxidative stress inducing factors, carboxymethyllysine (CML) and methylglyoxal (MG), but no change in the lipid oxidative stress marker 8-isoprostane, leptin or measures of insulin resistance or glucose metabolism. We conclude that WBM contain a variety of compounds with potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant health benefits that can occur with frequent consumption over time in adults predisposed to T2D. Well-controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings and identify the specific mushroom components beneficial to health.

Mushrooms have been used both as food and as medicine in many cultures, and their popularity as both is growing in the United States. We have shown that they are inherently, or can easily be made to be, excellent dietary sources of 4 important bioactive compounds that are all known to decease in humans as they age. These are the micronutrients selenium and vitamin D2 and antioxidants glutathione and ergothioneine (Ergo). All of these except for Ergo can be found in significant amounts in other foods; hence, it will be the primary focus of this review. Because Ergo is made in nature primarily by nonyeast fungi, mushrooms are by far the best human dietary source. Humans produce a highly specific transport protein for Ergo that makes it highly bioavailable and avidly retained, leading many to speculate about its potential importance to human health because such specific transporters are rarely present for nonnutrient bioactive compounds. Ergo is found in small amounts throughout the food chain presumably owing to fungi in the soil passing it on to plants and then animals that eat them. We have preliminary evidence that Ergo levels in the American food supply might be compromised because of reduced fungal populations in agricultural soils caused by some cultivation practices. Relationships observed between estimated Ergo consumption and average longevity and reductions in chronic neurodegenerative diseases across different countries supports additional interest in Ergo as a dietary chemopreventive agent for aging-related diseases.

There is mounting evidence for the potential for the natural dietary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory amino acid l-Ergothioneine (ERGO) to prevent or mitigate chronic diseases of aging. This has led to the suggestion that it could be considered a ‘longevity vitamin.’ ERGO is produced in nature only by certain fungi and a few other microbes. Mushrooms are, by far, the leading dietary source of ERGO, but it is found in small amounts throughout the food chain, most likely due to soil-borne fungi passing it on to plants. Because some common agricultural practices can disrupt beneficial fungus–plant root relationships, ERGO levels in foods grown under those conditions could be compromised. Thus, research is needed to further analyse the role agricultural practices play in the availability of ERGO in the human diet and its potential to improve our long-term health.

Unanticipated D2 cooking loss from fresh UVB mushrooms and probable low absorption and/or hydroxylation may explain the smaller increase in 25OHD2 in our prediabetic overweight/obese cohort compared with past findings in younger, healthy subjects. Moreover, no dose or vitamin D source was associated with modifying T2D risk factors.

Edited by Barry HalliwellErgothioneine (ERGO) is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory amino acid that is highly bioavailable to humans from the diet. ERGO is now regarded by some as a 'longevity vitamin' that has the potential to mitigate some chronic diseases of ageing and thereby increase life expectancy when present in adequate amounts. However, only limited knowledge exists regarding ERGO content in the human diet. Since ERGO is produced primarily by fungi, mushrooms are known to be the leading dietary source, but ERGO is found in relatively low amounts throughout the food chain as a result of soilborne fungi or bacteria passing it on to plants through their roots. Some conventional agricultural practices that negatively impact soil fungi, such as excessive soil disturbance (ploughing), can significantly reduce ERGO content of food crops when compared to regenerative practices such as eliminating tillage of the soil (no-till). This has led us to the concept that ERGO may be a definitive connection between soil health and human health.