Species identity of Phellinus linteus (sanghuang) extensively used as a medicinal mushroom in Korea

Abstract

Sanghuang is a medicinal mushroom that has gained particular attention in Korea. It has been extensively studied for the past few decades as a natural immune booster and cancer suppressor. Although the scientific name, Phellinus linteus, has been commonly used to refer to the sanghuang mushroom, the species identity of sanghuang has been called into question due to the ambiguity of its circumscription and the inadequacy of morphological distinctions within allied species. Because the species concept of sanghuang has been elucidated by recent molecular phylogenetic studies, it has become necessary to clarify the taxonomic positions of sanghuang strains extensively utilized in Korea. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of 74 strains belonging to the P. linteus-baumii complex based on ITS nrDNA sequences. Parental stains of sanghuang varieties formally registered in the Korea Seed & Variety Service, including ASI 26046 (Corea sanghuang), 26114 (Boolro), and 26115 (HK 1-ho) were grouped with Sanghuangporus sanghuang instead of P. linteus in the inferred phylogeny.

Optimized production and safety evaluation of hispidin‐enriched Sanghuangporus sanghuang mycelia

“…Phellinus linteus is an economically valuable traditional medicinal mushroom with various medicinal functions (Chen et al, ). However, the identity of this species has been called into question lately due to its multiple taxon concepts and the inadequacy of morphological distinctions within closely allied species (Han et al, ). As the identification of fungal taxonomy has been based on morphology characters such as spore‐producing structures, it could often be misleading due to several factors, such as hybridization (Hughes et al, ), cryptic speciation (Lucking et al, ), and convergent evolution (Brun & Silar, ).…”

“…Although phenotypic characters are the foundation of fungal taxonomy, such method can be objective due to the variations in morphological traits. Additionally, the taxonomy of P. linteus has been difficult because of the inadequacy of morphological distinctions within closely allied species (Han et al, ). To overcome such drawback, analysis with nucleotide sequences has been developed into becoming the new gold standard for differentiating these species (Raja et al, ).…”

ITS barcoding-based species identification for Sanghuangporus (Basidiomycota), a genus of medicinal mushrooms

“…Even worse, Shao et al (2020) stated that these six strains are commercially cultivated, which further results in the name chaos for commercial products of "Sanghuang". Another case is a paper specially on the species identity of "Sanghuang" strains (Han et al 2016). Thirty strains deposited in the Agricultural Sciences Institute culture collection (Mushroom Research Division, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea) were correctly identi ed as Sanghuangporus vaninii and S. sanghuang according to an ITS-based phylogenetic analysis; however, unfortunately, most of these ITS sequences were mislabeled when being submitted to GenBank.…”

Evaluation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of ethanol extracts from different varieties of Sanghuang species

“…In addition, P. vaninii, now known as S. vaninii, a parasitic pathogen on the trunks of Populus davidiana, has a basidiocarp appearance very similar to that of the wild Sanghuang. [19][20][21]26 Owing to its high yield in the wild and ease of articial cultivation; it is sold as real Sanghuang in the markets in China, Japan, and Korea. S. baumii which has a very high yield of over hundreds of tons per year has also been extensively studied.…”

“…Studies on the other varieties are even rarer. [19][20][21]26 Thus, in the past decade, T. linteus and S. baumii, but not the wild S. sanghuang, have been generally used as the scientic names for Sanghuang (S. sanghuang) species and studied worldwide. 21 Till date, there have been no reports on any benecial pharmacological activity of S. sanghuang.…”