Shiitake mushrooms help improve immune function in humans

Shiitake mushrooms (also called shiitake mushrooms) are very good for us, and byproducts from shiitake mushrooms can be useful for other plants as well.

These fungi contain high molecular weight polysaccharide (HNWP), and they have been shown in several studies that can improve immune function in humans. Another study also found that eritadenine in shiitake mushrooms could help lower cholesterol.

ARS agronomist David Brauer is studying the production of shiitake mushrooms at the department's research center in Booneville, Ark. Collaborating with the producers at the shiitake research center in Shirley, Ark, Brauer assessed whether the shiitakes grown in wood had higher HMWP levels than those grown on farms.

The team mapped logs with spores from three different types of shiitake mushrooms and compared its yield to the production of frozen mushrooms grown on the farm. They found that wood-growing mushrooms had a higher HMWP level than mushrooms grown on farms about 70%.

The team also observed that shiitake mushrooms grown in red and white oak logs had higher levels of HMWP than shiitake mushrooms growing in tree logs.

Shiitake grows on special logs with compounds that can improve the immune function of humans higher than the shiitake mushrooms grown on farms.(Photo: Keith Weller)

Logs used in shiitake production often yield high yields for 2 to 3 years. Larger shiitake farms can have more than 3,000 logs and remove about 1,000 logs a year.

Not to waste those used logs, Brauer's group smashed these logs, added urea and chips from the grass plants, then mixed the mixture into one type of fertilizer. mix. They found that the amount of nitrogen in this compost can match the amount of nitrogen in soil amendments purchased in the market.

Researchers have used compost from this wood to improve soil in a greenhouse vegetable growing system and found that plants grown from seeds have a faster growth rate than those grown in untreated soil. . Using recycled compost is also a way for mushroom growers to increase profits.