Mushroom nutriceuticals in Malaysia

Abstract

Mushrooms have been identified as one of the high-value commodities under Malaysia's National Agro-Food Policy (2011-2020). Development of the mushroom industry emphasizes on further area expansion, increased productivity, development of new varieties and product quality improvement. At present, three medicinal mushroom varieties, namely the Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: Fr.) Pers., Lignosus rhinocerotis (Cooke) Ryvarden and Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. are developed as nutriceutical products in Malaysia Hericium erinaceus, also known as Lion's mane, Monkey's head, Hedgehog mushroom, Sa tyr's beard, Pom pom blanc, Igelstachelbart, and Yamabushitake is distributed in Asia, Europe and North America. It is a temperate mushroom that requires cool temperatures of 18 °C to 24 °C to produce fruiting bodies. Since 2000, it has been domesticated via adaptation to tropical climate in Malaysia. A standardized aqueous extract from fruiting bodies that contains approximately 21% β-(1-3), (1-6)-glucans and 0.2% adenosine was marketed as NevGro TM by Ganofarm R&D Sdn Bhd. The mushroom has been extensively tested in in vitro trials in our laboratories using neuronal cell lines, as the neurite outgrowth stimulator in the cultured cells of neural hybrid clone NG108-15 and PC12, and as the regulator of oxidative stress in the dermal fibroblasts of Friedreich's ataxia patients. Further, we explored the ability of locally cultivated H. erinaceus in the enhancement of peripheral nerve regeneration and acceleration of motor functional recovery after crush injury. Upregulation of signaling pathways as well as axonal protein synthesis and degradation are consistent with the beginning of motor functional recovery of injured limb. 2

Effective microbes (EM) and their potential on mushroom commercialization in Malaysia

“…Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and herbalists use mushroom-based products comprehensively., which make it recognizable and listed under Malaysia's National Agro-Food 2011-2020 Policy (Wong, 2018). The most popular mushroom cultivated and commercialized in Malaysia is oyster mushroom, and among the wide variety of mushroom cultivated, 90.89 % of all mushrooms farmed and marketed is Pleurotus ostreatus.…”

Medicinal Macrofungi as Cosmeceuticals: A Review

“…5,9 Macrofungi-derived nutraceuticals and nutriceuticals are obtained from mycelia and/or fruiting bodies and administered per os in the form of capsules, tablets, or extracts. 14,15 Currently, macrofungi-derived numerous commercial products, such as cosmeceuticals (applied topically, i.e., creams, lotions, and ointments) and nutracosmetics (administered per os) are available in the market. Their usage is significantly high due to minimal regulation and safety compared to traditional drugs.…”