What are Quality Mushroom Extracts?

Get the low down on what to look for when you want something that works.

It isn’t always what you expect…

When it comes to tracking down quality functional mushrooms, it's understandable that things can get a little confusing. It doesn't help that there are a lot of companies out there trying to pull the wool over your eyes and you sell inferior products. In fact, there was a study done on American reishi supplements in 2017 1 that showed only 26% of their samples matched what was stated on the label. Eeek.

So what do we need to look out for when buying functional mushroom products?

Mycelium on grain or Fruiting body

If you're new to the world of mushrooms, this one could use a little explaining. 

Above is a simplified diagram showing the mushroom life cycle.

Mycelium are like the roots of a tree, they spread out into and break down a food source ie. a dead log. This breaking down of woody materials plays a key role in our ecosystem as it allows the recycling of nutrients and helps to build soil. Without going into a much deeper explanation and me waxing lyrically about the wonders of fungi... The fungi use this energy to continue growing and eventually produce a fruiting body, what we classically think of as a mushroom, which can then release spores and complete its life cycle.

When you see a product that is Mycelium on grain, what you are getting is one part of the life cycle, the fungi breaking down its food source (often grains such as rice, oats or rye)

The problem with Mycelium on grain is that the mycelium can't be separated from the grain it is grown on. So depending on how efficient the mushroom strain is at breaking down the grain it’s grown on and how long it is given to do this, you could end up with a lot of undigested grains in the mix.

Consequently you can end up paying a lot of money for the residual grain, the “mushroom food” that contains very little mushroom.

The above image shows mushroom grain spawn. When growing mushrooms, grain spawn is a key step in expanding the mushroom culture. This grain spawn would be added to a final substrate, such as hardwood sawdust, to expand the culture again and eventually produce a fruiting body.

So why do people do this?

Well, it comes down to economics. Fruiting mushrooms can be tricky. Some strains of mushrooms require quite specific conditions to fruit and it is faster and easier to skip the fruiting stage entirely. Also, the extra weight of the useless grain is “money for old rope”.

Buying fruiting body only mushroom extracts ensures you are getting what you are paying for, not just some very expensive grain spawn.

Full spectrum 

Full-spectrum is often used to describe mushroom supplements and it sounds great, but what does it actually mean? Full spectrum is often used to refer to the inclusion of all parts of the mushroom life cycle include in the product - the mycelium, the primordia (baby mushrooms) and the fruiting body. The problem with this is similar to that of the mycelium on grain, the residual grain in the product means you’re paying a lot of money for leftover grain that you don’t want.
Look out for ingredients such as rice or oat on the nutritional information panel as this can indicate that the powder has a lot of filler.

Extraction

When it comes to getting quality mushroom products, extraction is key. This is because many of the beneficial compounds found in functional mushrooms are locked away within the chitinous cell wall of the mushroom (chitin is also found in crustacean and insect shells). Without this extraction, the mushrooms you consume could sail on through your system without having the benefit we are hoping for. 

This extraction would have traditionally been done by chopping up the mushroom and simmering them to make a tea or by cooking the mushroom in a soup. This method is good and can work well for gaining benefits from functional mushrooms you buy or forage but can be done much more effectively on a commercial scale.


Our organic mushroom powders are extracted through a number of processes :

- Shredding the mushroom fruiting body

- extracting under pressure with hot water 3 times

- starch removal

- a number of steps to concentrate this extract

- Finally, spray drying to create a fine water-soluble powder

All this hard work leaves us with powder that has high levels of bioavailable active compounds…

What are the active compounds?

When considering the quality of mushroom extracts, one key compounds to consider are the polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are carbohydrates composed of long chains of monosaccharide units joined by glycosidic linkages 2 that make up the structural elements of a fungal cell wall. Specifically, within these polysaccharides, beta-d-glucans have received a lot of attention from researchers over the past few decades and have been studied for their interaction with our immune system along with other effects on the body.
Each functional mushroom has a unique structure and contains unique compounds, this is what gives each mushroom its “superpower”.

Wildwoods mushroom extracts have stated levels of the all important beta-d-glucans as we want to ensure you are not only getting a blissful brew, you are also getting a good dose of these key compounds.

Our mushroom extracts have been measured to show:

Reishi:
Pollysaccaride > 40%

Beta glucan > 25 % 

Lion’s Mane:
Pollysaccaride > 50%

beta glucan > 30%

Cordyceps:
Pollysaccaride > 50%

beta glucan > 30%

Not all of the sought after compounds found in mushrooms are beta-d-glucans, there are also triterpenes and other compounds specific to particular mushrooms such as cordycepin (cordyceps) and hericenone (Lions mane), with the amount of these varying relative to the quality of the mushroom and the extraction methods.

Ultimately it’s up to you to make your own decision and to do your own research; I hope this article helps you gain a little more understanding of what is going on in the world of mushroom extracts and to make a more informed decision.

We try to be as transparent as possible with what we offer as we genuinely hope to make people's lives better with what we do. If you are after a high dose of a specific mushroom for a specific ailment, look out for the pitfalls mentioned above. If you are after quality extracts that are easy to use, elegantly blended with delicious and powerful superfoods, then take a look at our cacao blends.

Either way, I hope you can find a way to incorporate functional mushrooms into your life and enjoy all they have to offer.