MUSHROOM POWDERS vs. MUSHROOM EXTRACTS
HOT WATER EXTRACTION
Mushrooms are composed of tough cellular walls that are largely indigestible, which are mainly composed of Chitin. This same component is also what makes up the external skeleton of shellfish and some insects. Chitin is heat sensitive meaning heat-treated procedures such as Hot Water Extraction (HWE) can break down these tough cellular walls. HWE is achieved by boiling procedures that thoroughly heat the fungi (Step 1 in Figure 1) and then the mixture is loaded in a spray-drier that uses pressurized hot air that removes any liquid – Step 2 - 3 in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Hot Water Extraction Procedure
(Information from the below source was used for the above illustration)
Promedics, 2010. Image source
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
These extraction procedures allow our natural digestive enzymes to access the inherent nutritional and bioactive ingredients of extracted mushrooms. These bioactive ingredients range from proteins, B-vitamins, vitamin D₂, minerals and essential nutrients called β-glucans, of which most are water-soluble. β-glucans are a derivative of the broken down cellular walls and the amount can vary, up to approximate percentages, in correlation to the bio-activity of the extract (Step 4 in Figure 1).
Alternatively, mushroom powders can be produced through multiple ways as regulatory standards for product information is still under research. Methods utilized for mushroom powders consist of dehydrating mushrooms at temperatures that do not wholly breakdown chitin and then are dried and processed to a powder. Mushroom powders may either consist of fruiting body's (the grown mushroom) and/or the mycelium grown on grains (Mycelium is the actual living organism - responsible for plenty, which taking in nutrients and releasing enzymes is done by acting like a complex network that feeds the mushroom). The myceliated grains are freeze dried and then pulverised to a powder - no extraction treatment administered. With these production approaches having either or both fruitbody and/or myceliated grain that is not adequately heated, raises possibility that amounts of inferior grain or other inferior/indigestible molecules may be present in the finished product. This may result in a reduction of the amount of bioactive ingredients and an increase in the levels of common molecules in the bottled product. Therefore, it should be known that once dried and ground into a powder you may not be getting beneficial compounds that are bioavailable. Unfortunately, some products follow this course as they are cheap to produce and incorrectly sold as a mushroom extracts for e.g. freeze-dried myceliated brown rice.
Although, if a powder-based product is subjected to heat treatment this may then allow for a more easily digestible product. That has further potential to deliver secondary metabolites (enzymes) manufactured from the mycelium and primordia formation on a nutritionally digestible substrate. Over a long-course period this may provide benefits toward homeostasis. However, if one is in avoidance of a high purine intake then certain species should be consulted by a Medical doctor as there may be unknown side effects from high dosages of powders.
The essential component in what sets apart the problem often overlooked in mushroom products is then, can our body digest the product? In the case of a mushroom powder due to the procedure the cellular walls are still intact, and nutrients locked up. Therefore, almost all the beneficial compounds can simply pass through the digestive system where extracted compounds containing bioavailable β-glucans are easily absorbed and taken up by the immune system. The immune system can only take up the β-glucans if they are bio-available as the body’s natural defence mechanisms are then effectively influenced when mushroom products have gone through heat/extraction treatment. These underlying differences in products are some of the reasons why extracts are therapeutically potent and why powders may not always provide the value prescribed to extracted mushroom products.
For more on the above mechanisms see https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@ricatsteem/what-makes-edible-fungi-functional-foods
For a more detailed view of the above mechanisms see: https://steemit.com/steemstem/@ricatsteem/part-1-edible-fungi-and-their-role-in-exercise-induced-immunosuppression
AND
https://steemit.com/steemstem/@ricatsteem/part-2-edible-fungi-and-exercise-induced-immunosuppression
References:
Promedics, 2010. Mushroom Science. [online] [pdf]. Available at: http://www.promedics.ca/site/downloads/JHS%20Training%20Manual.pdf