Chapter 11 - Edible mushrooms of the Philippines: traditional knowledge, bioactivities, mycochemicals, and in vitro cultivation

Abstract

The Philippines is blessed with enormous biodiversity including a very rich fungal diversity. Among our mycoflora are the different species of mushrooms utilized by our indigenous communities. In this paper, we report the utilization of mushrooms by the Aetas, the Gaddangs, the Kalanguyas, the Bugkalots, and the Ifugaos as reported in published literature. Interestingly, some species of mushrooms, such as Schizophyllum commune (Fries), Auricularia auricula (Bull.) Quel., and those of Pleurotus and Lentinus, are among the commonly utilized edible mushrooms by these indigenous communities. We also report here the mushrooms utilized as medicine by our indigenous people for the treatment of various diseases, for example, headache, skin diseases, gastric ulcer, hepatitis, and stomachache. These included Schizophyllum commune, Volvariella volvacea (Bull.) Singer, Auricularia auricula, and Lentinus tigrinus (Bull.) Fr. Finally, we also presented studies aimed to mass produce these mushrooms through in vitro culture techniques including studies presenting their beneficial properties such as their mycochemicals and bioactivities. We hope that through this paper, more research will follow to document and preserve the rich traditional knowledge on mushrooms by our Filipino indigenous communities.