Usage of Mushrooms in Culinary and Medicinal Purposes

Abstract

Mohammad Azizur Rahman, Tawhidur Rahman, Moshiur Rahman, Mirza Arif

The present article reviews the history of mushroom uses in culinary, food and medicinal values; current status and future aspect of mushroom research. Mushrooms contain biologically active polysaccharides, lipid and proteins in fruit bodies, each of them has a distinct role in health as either nutritional value or medicinal elements. Immunostimulating polysaccharides found in mushrooms, are most important for modern medicine. Several of the mushroom biomolecules have undergone phase I, II, and III clinical trials and are used extensively and successfully throughout the world for the treatment of various cancers and other diseases. Medicinal functions played by the mushrooms include antitumor, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antidiabetic, detoxification, cardiovascular, ant hypercholesterolemia, antiviral, antifungal, hepatoprotective, immunomodulating and free radical scavenging. The present review draws attention to nutritional and medicinal importance of mushroom as well as the problems and opportunity in the future development of mushroom research.

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