A Review on General Nutritional Compounds and Pharmacological Properties of the Lentinula edodes Mushroom

Abstract

Lentinula edodes is a macrofungus withgreat potential for therapeutic applications and serves as a model forinvestigating functional fungi properties and isolating pure compounds forpharmaceutical use. Mushrooms have a great nutritional value and presentmedicinal molecules including polysaccharides, terpenoids, sterols and lipids,that participate actively in several human disorders and modulate mechanismsinvolved in the immune system regulation. This review will focus on generalnutritional compounds and pharmacological properties of L. edodes.