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Journal of Agricultural and Food... Aug 2015The culinary and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus is widely consumed in Asian countries, but apparently not in the United States, for its nutritional and health... (Review)
Review
The culinary and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus is widely consumed in Asian countries, but apparently not in the United States, for its nutritional and health benefits. To stimulate broader interest in the reported beneficial properties, this overview surveys and consolidates the widely scattered literature on the chemistry (isolation and structural characterization) of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites such as erinacines, hericerins, hericenones, resorcinols, steroids, mono- and diterpenes, and volatile aroma compounds, nutritional composition, food and industrial uses, and exceptional nutritional and health-promoting aspects of H. erinaceus. The reported health-promoting properties of the mushroom fruit bodies, mycelia, and bioactive pure compounds include antibiotic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antifatigue, antihypertensive, antihyperlipodemic, antisenescence, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective properties and improvement of anxiety, cognitive function, and depression. The described anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunostimulating properties in cells, animals, and humans seem to be responsible for the multiple health-promoting properties. A wide range of research advances and techniques are described and evaluated. The collated information and suggestion for further research might facilitate and guide further studies to optimize the use of the whole mushrooms and about 70 characterized actual and potential bioactive secondary metabolites to help prevent or treat human chronic, cognitive, and neurological diseases.
Topics: Agaricales; Animals; Fruiting Bodies, Fungal; Functional Food; Humans; Mycelium; Nutritive Value; Plant Extracts; Vegetables
PubMed: 26244378
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02914 -
Scientific Reports Jan 2022Electrical activity of fungus Pleurotus ostreatus is characterised by slow (h) irregular waves of baseline potential drift and fast (min) action potential likes spikes...
Electrical activity of fungus Pleurotus ostreatus is characterised by slow (h) irregular waves of baseline potential drift and fast (min) action potential likes spikes of the electrical potential. An exposure of the myceliated substrate to a chloroform vapour lead to several fold decrease of the baseline potential waves and increase of their duration. The chloroform vapour also causes either complete cessation of spiking activity or substantial reduction of the spiking frequency. Removal of the chloroform vapour from the growth containers leads to a gradual restoration of the mycelium electrical activity.
Topics: Action Potentials; Anesthetics, Inhalation; Chloroform; Mycelium; Pleurotus; Time Factors; Volatilization
PubMed: 35013424
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04172-0 -
Bio Systems Feb 2022Fungal electronics is a family of living electronic devices made of mycelium bound composites or pure mycelium. Fungal electronic devices are capable of changing their... (Review)
Review
Fungal electronics is a family of living electronic devices made of mycelium bound composites or pure mycelium. Fungal electronic devices are capable of changing their impedance and generating spikes of electrical potential in response to external control parameters. Fungal electronics can be embedded into fungal materials and wearables or used as stand alone sensing and computing devices.
Topics: Electronics; Fungi; Mycelium
PubMed: 34979157
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2021.104588 -
Microbiology Spectrum May 2017The characteristic growth pattern of fungal mycelia as an interconnected network has a major impact on how cellular events operating on a micron scale affect colony... (Review)
Review
The characteristic growth pattern of fungal mycelia as an interconnected network has a major impact on how cellular events operating on a micron scale affect colony behavior at an ecological scale. Network structure is intimately linked to flows of resources across the network that in turn modify the network architecture itself. This complex interplay shapes the incredibly plastic behavior of fungi and allows them to cope with patchy, ephemeral resources, competition, damage, and predation in a manner completely different from multicellular plants or animals. Here, we try to link network structure with impact on resource movement at different scales of organization to understand the benefits and challenges of organisms that grow as connected networks. This inevitably involves an interdisciplinary approach whereby mathematical modeling helps to provide a bridge between information gleaned by traditional cell and molecular techniques or biophysical approaches at a hyphal level, with observations of colony dynamics and behavior at an ecological level.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Biomass; Ecology; Ecosystem; Food; Fungi; Hyphae; Models, Biological; Models, Theoretical; Mycelium; Plants; Soil Microbiology; Water
PubMed: 28524023
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.FUNK-0033-2017 -
Microbiology Spectrum Apr 2017Filamentous fungi are a large and ancient clade of microorganisms that occupy a broad range of ecological niches. The success of filamentous fungi is largely due to... (Review)
Review
Filamentous fungi are a large and ancient clade of microorganisms that occupy a broad range of ecological niches. The success of filamentous fungi is largely due to their elongate hypha, a chain of cells, separated from each other by septa. Hyphae grow by polarized exocytosis at the apex, which allows the fungus to overcome long distances and invade many substrates, including soils and host tissues. Hyphal tip growth is initiated by establishment of a growth site and the subsequent maintenance of the growth axis, with transport of growth supplies, including membranes and proteins, delivered by motors along the cytoskeleton to the hyphal apex. Among the enzymes delivered are cell wall synthases that are exocytosed for local synthesis of the extracellular cell wall. Exocytosis is opposed by endocytic uptake of soluble and membrane-bound material into the cell. The first intracellular compartment in the endocytic pathway is the early endosomes, which emerge to perform essential additional functions as spatial organizers of the hyphal cell. Individual compartments within septated hyphae can communicate with each other via septal pores, which allow passage of cytoplasm or organelles to help differentiation within the mycelium. This article introduces the reader to more detailed aspects of hyphal growth in fungi.
Topics: Fungal Proteins; Fungi; Hyphae
PubMed: 28429675
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.FUNK-0034-2016 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2022Living substrates are capable for nontrivial mappings of electrical signals due to the substrate nonlinear electrical characteristics. This property can be used to...
Living substrates are capable for nontrivial mappings of electrical signals due to the substrate nonlinear electrical characteristics. This property can be used to realise Boolean functions. Input logical values are represented by amplitude or frequency of electrical stimuli. Output logical values are decoded from electrical responses of living substrates. We demonstrate how logical circuits can be implemented in mycelium bound composites. The mycelium bound composites (fungal materials) are getting growing recognition as building, packaging, decoration and clothing materials. Presently the fungal materials are passive. To make the fungal materials adaptive, i.e. sensing and computing, we should embed logical circuits into them. We demonstrate experimental laboratory prototypes of many-input Boolean functions implemented in fungal materials from oyster fungi P. ostreatus. We characterise complexity of the functions discovered via complexity of the space-time configurations of one-dimensional cellular automata governed by the functions. We show that the mycelium bound composites can implement representative functions from all classes of cellular automata complexity including the computationally universal. The results presented will make an impact in the field of unconventional computing, experimental demonstration of purposeful computing with fungi, and in the field of intelligent materials, as the prototypes of computing mycelium bound composites.
Topics: Algorithms; Fungi; Mycelium; Smart Materials
PubMed: 36151275
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20080-3 -
Bio Systems Jul 2023Living fungal mycelium networks are proven to have properties of memristors, capacitors and various sensors. To further progress our designs in fungal electronics we...
Living fungal mycelium networks are proven to have properties of memristors, capacitors and various sensors. To further progress our designs in fungal electronics we need to evaluate how electrical signals can be propagated through mycelium networks. We investigate the ability of mycelium-bound composites to convey electrical signals, thereby enabling the transmission of frequency-modulated information. Mycelium networks were found to reliably transfer signals with a recoverable frequency comparable to the input, in the 100Hz to 10 000Hz frequency range. Mycelial adaptive responses, such as tissue repair, may result in fragile connections, however. While the mean amplitude of output signals was not reproducible among replicate experiments exposed to the same input frequency, the variance across groups was highly consistent. Our work is supported by NARX modelling through which an approximate transfer function was derived. These findings advance the state of the art of using mycelium-bound composites in analogue electronics and unconventional computing.
Topics: Mycelium; Fungi
PubMed: 37257553
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.104933 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2017We study a unique biomaterial developed from fungal mycelium, the vegetative part and the root structure of fungi. Mycelium has a filamentous network structure with...
We study a unique biomaterial developed from fungal mycelium, the vegetative part and the root structure of fungi. Mycelium has a filamentous network structure with mechanics largely controlled by filament elasticity and branching, and network density. We report the morphological and mechanical characterization of mycelium through an integrated experimental and computational approach. The monotonic mechanical behavior of the mycelium is non-linear both in tension and compression. The material exhibits considerable strain hardening before rupture under tension, it mimics the open cell foam behavior under compression and exhibits hysteresis and the Mullins effect when subjected to cyclic loading. Based on our morphological characterization and experimental observations, we develop and validate a multiscale fiber network-based model for the mycelium which reproduces the tensile and compressive behavior of the material.
Topics: Biocompatible Materials; Compressive Strength; Mycelium; Stress, Mechanical; Tensile Strength; Viscosity
PubMed: 29026133
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13295-2 -
International Journal of Medicinal... 2023This study was conducted to evaluate extraction yield, antioxidant content, antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity of extracts obtained from submerged mycelium...
This study was conducted to evaluate extraction yield, antioxidant content, antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity of extracts obtained from submerged mycelium (ME) and fruiting body (FBE) of Phellinus robiniae NTH-PR1. The results showed that yields of ME and FBE reached 14.84 ± 0.63 and 18.89 ± 0.86%, respectively. TPSC, TPC, and TFC were present in both mycelium and fruiting body, and the more contents of them were found in fruiting body. The concentrations of TPSC, TPC and TFC in ME and FBE were 17.61 ± 0.67 and 21.56 ± 0.89 mg GE g-1, 9.31 ± 0.45 and 12.14 ± 0.56 mg QAE g-1, and 8.91 ± 0.53 and 9.04 ± 0.74 mg QE g-1, respectively. EC50 values for DPPH radical scavenging revealed FBE (260.62 ± 3.33 μg mL-1) was more effective than ME (298.21 ± 3.61 μg mL-1). EC50 values for ferrous ion chelating in ME and FBE were 411.87 ± 7.27 and 432.39 ± 2.23 μg mL-1, respectively. Thus, both extracts were able to inhibit Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacterial strains, at concentrations ranging in 25-100 mg mL-1 of ME and 18.75-75 mg mL-1 of FBE for Gram-positive bacteria; ranging in 75-100 mg mL-1 of ME and 50-75 of FBE for Gram-negative bacteria. Overall submerged mycelial biomass and fruiting bodies of Ph. robiniae NTH-PR1 can be considered as useful natural sources for development of functional food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products or cosmeceuticals.
Topics: Agaricales; Antioxidants; Basidiomycota; Anti-Infective Agents; Ascomycota; Mycelium; Fruiting Bodies, Fungal
PubMed: 37017660
DOI: 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2022047243 -
Polish Journal of Microbiology Jun 2024This study aimed to elucidate the influence of various culture medium components, including carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic salts, suspension agents, and...
This study aimed to elucidate the influence of various culture medium components, including carbon sources, nitrogen sources, inorganic salts, suspension agents, and temperature, on the mycelial growth characteristics of . Employing single-factor experiments and response surface methodology within glass Petri dishes, the research identified that carrot powder, soybean powder, and ZnSO notably enhanced the proliferation of aerial mycelium, significantly augmenting the growth rate of mycelium. The resultant mycelium was observed to be dense, robust, and fluffy in texture. In particular, ZnSO markedly accelerated the mycelium growth rate. Furthermore, xanthan gum was found to effectively modulate the medium's viscosity, ensuring a stable suspension and facilitating nutrient equilibrium. The optimal cultivation temperature was determined to be 25°C, with mycelial growth ceasing below 5°C and mycelium perishing at temperatures exceeding 35°C. The optimal medium composition was established as follows: wheat starch 5 g/l, carrot powder 5 g/l, soybean powder 7.50 g/l, glucose 10 g/l, ZnSO 0.71 g/l, NHCl 0.68 g/l, xanthan gum 0.5 g/l, and agar 20 g/l. Under these optimized conditions, the mycelium of exhibited a rapid growth rate (1.04 ± 0.14 mm/day), characterized by a thick, dense, and well-developed structure. This investigation provides a theoretical foundation for the conservation, strain selection, and breeding of .
Topics: Mycelium; Culture Media; Temperature; Nitrogen; Carbon; Polysaccharides, Bacterial
PubMed: 38905279
DOI: 10.33073/pjm-2024-022