Let’s talk about how we should process the medicinal mushrooms as a functional food as well as a supplement. In general, most of us might think about how to scientifically extract a single element or simple compound from the mushrooms. Eventually, the simplest processes are hot water or tincture extractions and/or dried powdered. These methods have been used for ages and everyone can do in their own home. But can we make them better?
Because most of the medicinal properties are composited in the cell wall, extracting those compounds by breaking them down will give us all beneficial values. But is that enough?
Actually, many compounds are ready for human consumption except a few such as β-glucan and especially polysaccharides which may have a high molecular weight of about 100k-2,000kDa. Most medicinal mushrooms have proteoglycan as the core protein for those important polysaccharides. All these elements cannot be effectively applied to the human digestive system.
By using bioactive processing, we imitate the natural aerobic/anaerobic fermentation to digest that protein-bound. The bioavailability will be broadened and become more effective.
The Facebook link below demonstrates the initiative fermented from Dr.Anon’s family’s wild Phelinus.