Shiitake Mushrooms May Improve Human Immune Function, Especially If Grown On Old Oak Logs

ScienceDaily (June 29, 2008) — Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushrooms are good for you--and shiitake byproducts can be good for other crops.

These mushrooms contain high-molecular-weight polysaccharides (HMWP), which some studies suggest may improve human immune function. Other research indicates that the shiitake compound eritadenine may help lower cholesterol levels.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agronomist David Brauer has been studying shiitake production at the agency's Dale Bumpers Small Farm Research Center, Booneville, Ark. Working in collaboration with producers at the Shiitake Mushroom Center in Shirley, Ark., Brauer evaluated whether shiitakes grown on logs have higher levels of HMWP than shiitakes grown on commercial substrates.

The group inoculated logs with spores from three different shiitake varieties and compared the yield with shiitake yields grown on commercial substrates. They found that the log-grown shiitakes had HMWP levels as much as 70 percent higher than the substrate-grown shiitakes. The team also observed that shiitakes grown on red and white oak logs had higher levels of HMWP than shiitakes grown on sweet gum logs.

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