Emily Johnson
Mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. They are known to have antibacterial, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, and cholesterol-lowering properties. Some mushrooms have been found to contain antibiotics, and they are currently being explored as a replacement for traditional antibiotics in animal nutrition. While only a handful of the tens of thousands of mushroom varieties have been studied, it is believed that many more varieties could be identified as potential sources of antibiotics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Medicinal use of mushrooms | Used throughout history for medicinal purposes |
| Antibacterial properties | Shown to inhibit the growth of common bacterial strains |
| Antibiotic properties | Extracts can potentiate the action of standard antibiotics |
| Antioxidant properties | Exhibited radical scavenging activities |
| Commercial importance | Natural source of important antibiotics such as penicillin and the cephalosporins |
| Toxicity | Many mushroom species are toxic |
| Mechanism of action | Cell wall composition of fungi and bacteria differs, leading to varied sensitivity to antibiotics |
| Research techniques | Paper disc diffusion, microdilution, imaging |
| Species with antibacterial properties | Cordyceps sinensis, Pleurotus australis, Boletus aestivalis, Boletus edulis, Leccinum carpini |
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What You'll Learn
Antibacterial mushrooms
Mushrooms, the fruiting body of a macrofungus, have been used throughout history for medicinal purposes. In modern times, several antibiotics have been isolated from various mushrooms and microfungi, including penicillin and griseofulvin, which are isolated from microfungi. However, out of tens of thousands of mushroom varieties, only a handful have been studied for their potential antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antiprotozoan properties, as well as other health benefits.
A team of researchers from the University of Auckland and Dr Peter Buchanan from Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research has shown that several varieties of edible mushrooms have antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The brown oyster mushroom (Pleurotus australis), native to New Zealand, has been shown to inhibit the growth of five common bacterial strains. Eight species of mushroom were selected for testing, four of which were known to early Māori as edible mushrooms: Auricularia cornea Ehrenb.; Calvatia gigantea; Hericium coralloides; and Pleurotus australis. Of these, P. australis exhibited the highest antioxidant activity.
In another study, the polysaccharides extracted from the mushroom Cordyceps sinensis inhibited the growth of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus epidermidis, and the mushroom P. australis extract restricted the growth of S. epidermidis. Further testing of these polysaccharides for antibiotic properties should be considered to understand the molecular basis of their antibacterial activity.
Additionally, wild mushroom extracts have been found to potentiate the action of standard antibiotics against multi-resistant bacteria. These extracts could decrease therapeutic doses of standard antibiotics and reduce micro-organisms' resistance to those drugs. For example, in a study by Thu ZM et al., Morchella esculenta and Morchella conica exhibited antibacterial potential against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes.
In the search for alternative methods to combat bacterial infections, scientists from various universities in India, Iraq, and Malaysia added aqueous extract from Iraqi mushrooms to a silver nitrate solution. This resulted in the formation of silver nanoparticles, which inhibited the growth of five different bacterial strains: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibacterial effects were dependent on the size and dosage of the nanoparticles, offering a potential alternative to commercial antibiotics, which can have toxic side effects.
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Antioxidant mushrooms
Mushrooms have been used for their medicinal properties throughout history. They have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiprotozoan, and antioxidant properties.
There are two main types of mushroom antioxidants: primary (chain-breaking, free radical scavengers) and secondary or preventive antioxidants. Secondary antioxidants manifest from the deactivation of metals, the inhibition or breakdown of lipid hydroperoxides, the regeneration of primary antioxidants, or singlet oxygen (1O2) quenching processes.
Mushrooms with antioxidant properties include:
- Ganoderma lucidum (lingzhi)
- Ganoderma tsugae
- Leucopaxillus species
- Pleurotus ferulae
- Clitocybe maxima
- Pleurotus ostreatus
- Pleurotus australis
- Cordyceps sinensis
- P. australis
- Oyster mushroom
- L edodes
- Agaricus spp.
- Lentinula edodes (shiitake)
- Volvariella volvacea (straw)
- Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s head or pom pom)
- Auricularia auricula-judae (ear)
- Grifola frondosa (maitake)
- Flammulina velutipes
- Trem
- Morchella esculenta
- Morchella conica
Mushrooms are also known for their antimicrobial activity. For example, L. edodes exhibits antimicrobial action against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, extracts from wild mushrooms have been shown to potentiate the action of standard antibiotics against multiresistant bacteria.
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Wild mushroom extracts
Mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. In modern times, several antibiotics have been isolated from various mushrooms and microfungi, including penicillin and griseofulvin. However, only a handful of the tens of thousands of mushroom varieties have been studied for their potential antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antiprotozoan properties.
Mushroom extracts have also been found to inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilms. For example, Russula delica, Fistulina hepatica, Mycena rosea, Leucopaxilus giganteus, and Lepista nuda extracts were found to inhibit the formation of biofilms by four Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii).
In addition to their antibacterial properties, wild mushroom extracts have also been found to have antioxidant properties. For example, a study on eight edible mushroom species found that all of the mushroom extracts exhibited radical scavenging activities, with P. australis exhibiting the highest antioxidant activity.
Overall, wild mushroom extracts have been shown to have potential therapeutic and biological effects, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-biofilm formation properties. Further research is needed to fully understand the extent of these effects and the underlying mechanisms involved.
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Mushroom nanoparticles
Mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. Several antibiotics have been isolated from various mushrooms and microfungi, including penicillin and griseofulvin. However, only a handful of the tens of thousands of mushroom varieties have been studied for their potential medicinal properties.
Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of a new field called myconanotechnology, which combines mycology and nanotechnology. Myconanotechnology employs fungal biomass to generate metallic nanoparticles, specifically from edible and medicinal mushrooms. Fungi are particularly useful in the synthesis of nanoparticles because they can internalize and bioaccumulate metals, and they have a high tolerance for heavy metals. They also produce a substantial number of enzymes and proteins that ensure better levels of production.
Mushroom-mediated nanoparticles have been synthesized using wild mushroom species such as Ganoderma sessiliforme and mushrooms collected from Iraq. These nanoparticles have shown potential antimicrobial activities against food-borne pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis, Listeria innocua, and Micrococcus luteus. The nanoparticles also inhibited the growth of other bacterial strains, including Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcusaureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The process of synthesizing mushroom-mediated nanoparticles involves adding an aqueous extract of the mushroom to a silver nitrate solution, which changes colour from pale to dark yellow, indicating the formation of silver nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have potential applications in various fields, including biomedicine, food safety, crop production, and environmental remediation. They could also offer an alternative method for treating bacterial infections, as they do not have the toxic side effects on the liver, kidneys, and nerve cells that commercial antibiotics do.
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Mushroom statins
Mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. Several mushroom species, especially in Asian countries, are used to obtain medicinal preparations and dietary supplements. Statins, a class of drugs used to treat cardiovascular diseases, were originally derived from fungi.
Compactin (mevastatin) is the original naturally occurring statin and is the primary biotransformation substrate in the manufacturing process of marketed drugs. Statins are divided into natural, semi-synthetic derivatives of natural statins, and synthetic statins. The synthetic variety differs from natural statins structurally, with the only common feature being the HMG-CoA-like moiety responsible for suppressing HMG-CoA reductase.
Agaricus bisporus, Cantharellus cibarius, Imleria badia, and Lentinula edodes are among the most popular edible mushroom species in Poland. These mushrooms are a valuable source of lovastatin, a compound belonging to the statin group, commonly used as a cholesterol-lowering drug. The fruiting bodies of these mushrooms are also a source of biologically active substances with beneficial antioxidant, antitumor, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects.
A novel method of preparing statin nanoparticles involves using oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sajor-caju). This approach aims to reduce the toxicity and enhance the efficacy of statins in treating cardiovascular disease. The oyster mushroom is used to prepare nanoparticles of statins, which have better solubility, bioavailability, and efficacy at a lower dose than nanoparticles from Lovastatin, a commercial drug. The SEM analysis of these nanoparticles showed a size range of 60-90 nm, and their HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of lovastatin. The antioxidant assay results demonstrated that the nanoparticles synthesized from the mushroom exhibited higher inhibition of approximately 73.83% compared to their bulk counterpart at 16.77%.
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Frequently asked questions
No, but several varieties of edible mushrooms have been found to have antibacterial and antioxidant properties.
Some examples of mushrooms that contain antibiotics include Cordyceps sinensis, P. australis (brown oyster mushroom), Boletus aestivalis, Boletus edulis, and Leccinum carpini.
Mushrooms naturally produce antibiotics to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria, limiting their competition in the natural environment.
Mushrooms are easy to grow, relatively inexpensive, and have potential antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antiprotozoan properties. Additionally, mushroom extracts could decrease therapeutic doses of standard antibiotics and reduce micro-organisms' resistance to those drugs.
Most of the tens of thousands of mushroom varieties are toxic and have not been studied yet, so further research is needed to understand the molecular basis of their antibacterial activity.
