German researchers Miriam Sari and Jan Lelley have recently published a new research paper in the Journal of Food Chemistry entitled “Screening of beta-glucan contents in commercially cultivated and wild growing mushrooms“. This paper looks at the beta-glucan content in commercially grown and wild mushrooms. Where possible they also looked at the beta-glucan content in the cap and stem to see if there were any differences.

The commercially grown mushrooms were purchased from local supermarkets or local growers in Germany. Wild specimens were collected from the western part of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany.

The Megazyme beta-glucan method was used to determine the beta-glucan and alpha-glucan content of all samples.

The results showed some interesting results for the amount of beta-glucans in the cap vs the stem. Most samples showed more beta-glucans in the stem than the cap. For example, The Porcini (Boletus edulis) stalk measured a whopping 57.9% beta-glucans with the cap only coming in at 16.88%.

As the stem is often tougher, more fibrous and undesirable when compared to the cap, it is often removed during the harvesting process. Many of us also cut the stems off the mushrooms we buy from the supermarkets. Whether it’s extracting them or using them for culinary purposes, the data indicates that the stems should be utilized in one way or another for their valuable beta-glucan content.

Mushrooms to note for their high beta-glucan content are Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphurous), Trembling Merulius (Phlebia tremellosa) and Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) which all show beta-glucan content around 50% with Turkey Tail leading the pack at 60.79%.

Here is the full table of results:

Full Paper: Sari, M., Prange, A., Lelley, J. I., & Hambitzer, R. (2017). Screening of beta-glucan contents in commercially cultivated and wild growing mushrooms. Food Chemistry, 216, 45–51.

On June 1st, 2016, Jeff presented his research that was published in Redefining Medicinal Mushrooms, which created a new testing protocol for qualifying functional mushroom products.

In one example, he highlights reishi to clearly demonstrate the differences in beta-glucans for whole reishi mushrooms and reishi mycelium grown on grain. The results were as follows:

The testing results illustrate that residual grain from mycelium products increases alpha-glucans (starch) and lowers the beta-glucans and ergosterol. Ergosterol is the sterol that is a prime indicator of degree of fungal presence in any material. It is also the pre-cursor to vitamin D2.

Full Presentation

Presentation Slides

ISMS Published Paper

Full Paper: A New Analytical Fingerprinting System for Quality Control of Medicinal Mushroom Products, Jeff Chilton, ISMS 2016

Follow Up Questions

At the end of Jeff’s presentation, there were 2 questions from Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti. This company sells mycelium on grain products.

1. Dr. McCleary’s recent paper on the Megazyme Beta-glucan test method found almost 2x more beta-glucans in reishi mushroom than previous test findings. How can this test method be accurate with such a wide variance of test results?

Jeff responded that Dr. McCleary’s paper was a detailed evaluation of the Megazyme beta-glucan method as well as a review of beta-glucan methods published by other mushroom researchers – Manzi and Molleken specifically. Dr. McCleary clearly elucidated the reasons why the methods used by Manzi and Molleken were not accurate.

When he re-evaluated his own Megazyme test method, he discovered that sulfuric acid was a better solvent than HCl for the procedure. Although sulfuric acid had no effect on most of the mushroom samples, it had a dramatic effect on reishi, increasing the beta-glucan result. Because of this finding, Dr. McCleary now recommends using sulfuric acid when running the Megazyme method.

This finding demonstrates why scientists such as Dr. McCleary publish in peer-reviewed journals and report their findings for the betterment of science. So the answer to Mr. Stamets’ question is that the method has been improved and best of all, reishi is actually higher in beta-glucans than originally believed.

Dr. McCleary’s paper was published in the peer reviewed Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists International, the body that validates analytical methods used in scientific research and industry. So the Megazyme method has now been peer reviewed.

2. How does the Megazyme method differentiate between mould mycelium and basidiomycete mycelium?

The Megazyme method is not designed to differentiate fungal species. Microbiological testing can accomplish this if the microbes are alive. In order to discover if other fungal species are present, Nammex sends the sample out for DNA analysis. This accurately determines what organisms are in the sample, so if mold or other plants are present, they will show up in the DNA analysis. Likewise, if a product is spiked by yeast, grain starches, or other adulterants, they will also show up.

Jeff Chilton, President of Nammex Organic Mushroom Extracts, is excited to announce that Nammex now has a reliable ongoing supply of genuine, organically certified, Cordyceps militaris mushroom extracts. At an affordable price.

Wildcrafted Cordyceps sinensis is a legendary Chinese medicinal mushroom that has traditionally been recommended for a broad range of applications including low energy and fatigue, respiratory function, and fertility.

But demand for this increasingly rare natural product put it out of reach for the average consumer which forced US companies to produce grain-laden Cordyceps mycelium. New scientific research has now demonstrated that Cordyceps militaris mushrooms have active compounds and benefits similar to, if not better than, Cordyceps sinensis.

As with other Nammex extracts, actual Cordyceps mushrooms are being organically cultivated and are supplied in powder form to supplement manufacturers in North America.

Nammex organic Cordyceps militaris mushrooms guarantee a higher level of active ingredients than common Cordyceps mycelium grown on cereal grains. The kind of potency desired by the high performance athletes who tend to use this product today.

Jeff Chilton, President of Nammex Organic Mushroom Extracts is shaking up the medicinal mushroom supplement business that he helped found over 25 years ago.

Nammex is a producer of medicinal mushroom extracts that they supply as raw materials to the booming medicinal mushroom supplement industry, which was last tracked in 2014 as a $18 Billion dollar industry worldwide.

The difference between Nammex product and most others on the market is that Nammex works in cooperation with organically certified mushroom growers deep in the mountains of China – where 85% of all natural medicinal mushrooms are grown.

Indeed, the Chinese have been consuming medicinal mushrooms like Reishi and Shiitake for centuries – revered for their immune system stimulation capabilities. Recently, mushroom products such as Cordyceps are being recognized by the high performance athletics industry.

Mr. Chilton’s concerns about the industry he helped found are that most nutritional supplements that are labeled and sold as mushroom products in Canada and the USA are in fact a product called mycelium on grain – more like the root of the plant rather than the fruit body of mushroom. The strength of mycelium on grain is significantly lower than a real mushroom extract as a result of the residual grain that remains a dominant part of the product.

Throughout 2015, Nammex has been bringing these facts to light – which has attracted considerable industry backlash. Mr. Chilton remains firm in his goal to educate consumers on the differences between real medicinal mushrooms and mycelium on grain products.