Bioactives from Mushroom and Their Application

Abstract

Mushrooms have been consumed and appreciated worldwide for their exquisite flavor, nutritional value, and medicinal properties. Some of them being nonedible are known only for their medicinal properties. These organisms belong to a taxonomic group of basidiomycetes or ascomycetes , which produce multiple potential bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides, proteoglycans, terpenes, phenolic compounds, lectins, peptides, and proteins, among others. These bioactive compounds confer to mushrooms’ antioxidant , antimicrobial , antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antineurodegenerative , antidiabetic, anticancer, antidepressant , immunomodulating, and others properties. The increasing isolation and purification of new compounds are leading to the discovering of new therapeutical drugs. However, some of the mushrooms of medicinal importance cannot be cultivated and can be only wild-harvested in the specific growing season, which results in a long time and high cost for producing mushroom bioactive compounds. In this sense, it is very important to improve and optimize conditions for mycelial growth in vitro and create new strains by genetic modification in order to produce large amounts of those compounds of interest. These organisms offer an increasing potential in medical applications due to their chemical composition and a wide range of bioactivities. Most of the reports about biologically active compounds have been focused on in vitro and in vivo (in animal studies) evidence; however, clinical trials need to be carried out.