Every year, my son, Skye and I travel to China to meet with our mushroom producing partners. The fall is a perfect time due to mild temperatures in central China and the arrival of the mushroom harvest. During the trip we will perform an audit of processing facilities and mushroom farms. Because there are multiple farms and different mushroom species are grown naturally according to ambient temperatures, we will see some species being harvested whereas other farms are still waiting for the first mature mushrooms to form.

In 2015 we were able to view mature shiitake, maitake and auricularia farms and growing facilities. This year we were able to see shiitake, tremella and best of all, Cordyceps militaris. Most of the farms are clustered deep in the mountainous areas of Zhejiang and Fujian Province. These areas are the traditional heartland of Chinese mushroom growing. In fact, mushroom growing was first started in these areas in the 12th century and since then has grown into the largest agricultural crop in this part of China.

Today there are approximately a dozen mushrooms that are cultivated on a truly commercial scale. It is not an easy task to develop a mushroom cultivar that can economically produce a high quality yield of mushrooms. In fact, it takes decades of strain development and substrate testing to finally achieve positive results. That is why the cultivation of C. militaris is so special. As a mushroom grower, I am always very excited to see a new mushroom being cultivated. So to see C. militaris growing on a large scale with the substrate surface completely covered with fruiting bodies was a very satisfying experience for me.

But even more satisfying is the thought that for the first time, Cordyceps mushrooms are available in quantity at a price that completely eliminates the need for the overpriced, wildcrafted Caterpillar Fungus or even the 100% mycelium product called Cs-4. This is truly a revolutionary turn of events.

During our stay we traveled to the city of Fuzhou to attend the International Conference on Ganoderma Research. This was a gathering of top Chinese and International scientists presenting current research: analytical, in-vivo and in-vitro testing, and even historical reports. Of particular interest was the work on quality control in Ganoderma products. Utilizing an array of testing methods, fingerprints of the important active compounds were created and evaluated.

Jeff with Dr. Lin Zhi-Bin

The conference was headlined by quality control, Redefining Medicinal Mushrooms.

Dr. Lin delivered a keynote on the benefits of Ganoderma (Reishi), highlighting the primary benefits of reishi to be disease prevention. This is directly related to immunological modulation and positive effects on the homeostasis of endocrine, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. This is also why reishi is considered a genuine longevity herb.

Skye and I value our yearly trips to China and view them as the best way to insure high quality mushroom products for our customers.

Until next year,

– Jeff

A Dragon on display at the International Conference on Ganoderma Research made entirely from Reishi.

A newly published research paper in the peer-reviewed  Redefining Medicinal Mushrooms, published in February, 2015.

Dr. McCleary’s paper examines different testing methods for measuring beta-glucans in basidiomycetes and utilizes whole dried mushrooms and off the shelf retail products as his sample material.

Table 2 shows the retail products tested:

Measurement of β-Glucan in Mushrooms and Mycelial Products – Table 2

Table 10 shows the testing results:

Measurement of β-Glucan in Mushrooms and Mycelial Products – Table 10

The alpha-glucan content (starch) in most of these products is extremely high.

Table 2 demonstrates that Product#2 is a mycelium on grain product which shows 66.4% alpha-glucan and 3.2% beta-glucan.

Product#3 also appears to be mycelium on grain with 72.5% alpha-glucan and 1.3% beta-glucan.

Product#8, which claims to be a “full spectrum” Cordyceps sinensis product, shows mostly alpha-glucan, 64.%, and 1.5% beta-glucan. This without question is mycelium on grain.

Product#9, which claims to be “100% organic ganoderma lucidum” shows 45.2% alpha-glucan and 7.3% beta-glucan.

Product#12, which is “Chaga mushroom (mycelium)” with other ingredients of “brown rice flour” shows 70% alpha-glucan and 0.0% beta-glucan.

In Redefining Medicinal Mushrooms we tested grains just to see what their alpha-glucan and beta-glucan content looked like. Our results are as follows:

Our testing showed that even grain has a small amount of beta-glucans (1-2%). Pure mushrooms have very little amounts of starch, 1-5%.

So for the retail products listed above, how much is actually mushroom and/or mycelium?

The tests results would indicate that there is more grain than fungal tissue.

This peer reviewed research by Dr. McCleary, confirms the test results reported in Redefining Medicinal Mushrooms and should be a wake up call for both companies and consumers. Genuine mushroom products are significantly different in quality, containing high levels of beta-glucans and low levels of alpha-glucans.  

As the results above demonstrate, the “mushroom” product you have purchased might be more grain than mushroom.

Full Paper: McCleary & Draga: Journal of AOAC International Vol. 99, no. 2, 2016