Role of edible mushroom as functional foods: A review

Abstract

Mushrooms have become attractive as a functional food and as a source of drugs and nutraceuticals due to their antioxidant, antitumor and antimicrobial properties. Besides their pharmacological features, mushrooms are becoming more important in our diet due to their nutritional value, high protein and low fat / energy contents. The mushroom protein contains all the nine essential amino acids required by humans. In addition to their good protein content, mushrooms are a relatively good source of the other nutrients like phosphorus, iron and vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, ergosterol, and niacin. They are not only sources of nutrients but also have been reported as therapeutic foods, useful in preventing diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and cancer. Mushrooms are the sources of bioactive substances such as secondary metabolites (acids, terpenoids, polyphenols, sesquiterpenes, alkaloids, lactones, sterols, metal chelating agents, nucleotide analogs, and vitamins), glycoproteins and polysaccharides, mainly í µí»½-glucans. Due to the presence of biologically active compounds of medicinal value they are used as anticancer, antiviral, hepatoprotective, immunopotentiating and hypocholesterolemic agents. Present review is aimed to discuss the high nutritional and therapeutic potential of mushrooms and their applications as functional foods or as a source of nutraceuticals for maintenance and promotion of health and life quality.