Create monkey head mushrooms adapted to tropical conditions

Monkey head mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)

For the first time in Vietnam, experts of the TW2 Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company have created a monkey head mushroom line that can withstand high temperatures, from 28 to 33 degrees C.

This success has contributed a new, delicious and precious edible mushroom to the Vietnamese food market. At the same time, this is also a source of raw materials to produce a number of pharmaceutical products to serve people's health.

Monkey head mushroom (phytoplankton) is a temperate mushroom, grown only in cool climates. The temperature for the monkey head mushroom to fruiting is 16-20 degrees Celsius and the highest temperature can be grown is 19-22 degrees Celsius.

In order to create a tropical adaptive fungus, MSc Trong Duc Trong and Phan Thi Nhieu isolated the fruiting bodies of monkey head mushrooms in pure culture conditions at high temperatures (28-33 degrees C).

Monkeys have a good effect on Alzheimers disease, prevent aging and restore neurons, strengthen the immune system and fight metastatic cancer. Mushroom polysaccharide is effective on stomach, esophageal and skin cancer .

In traditional Chinese medicine, using dried mushrooms and extracting with hot water increases digestion and makes the body stronger. In addition, monkey head mushrooms are also a delicious dish. The goal is for the fungus to adapt to heat. After 5 repetitions of such isolation, they selected a natural, heat-resistant monkey head mushroom strain.

So far, this fungus has been grown on a large scale in the context of normal mushroom growers. The grid-grown mushroom growers, corrugated iron roof and do not need to impact on temperature from humans.

As of October 2005, the company has produced 6 thousand tons of fresh mushrooms and is selling them in the form of drying.

According to MS Trong, the process of growing mushrooms is relatively simple, can be applied to all areas where agricultural waste is available, such as sawdust, straw, bagasse . In addition, residue after growing mushrooms can be used to feed earthworms, providing food for the livestock industry.

With this project, the research team won the Consolation Prize of the 8th National Technical Innovation Contest (2004-2005). The awards ceremony took place on January 10, 2005 in Hanoi.

Minh Son