User:Lehnerinea/Draft Hericium erinaceus

Hericium erinaceus (also called lion's mane mushroom, monkey head mushroom, bearded tooth mushroom, satyr's beard, bearded hedgehog mushroom, pom pom mushroom, or bearded tooth fungus) is an edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to the tooth fungus group. Native to North America, Europe and Asia it can be identified by its long spines (greater than 1 cm length), its appearance on hardwoods and its tendency to grow a single clump of dangling spines. Hericium erinaceus can be mistaken for other species of Hericium, which are all popular edibles that grow across the same range. In the wild, these mushrooms are common during late summer and fall on hardwoods, particularly American beech.

Distribution
Although H. erinaceus is native to Europe, it has been red listed in 13 European countries due to poor germination and establishment. This specific genus fruits between August and December in the United Kingdom, and will continue to produce spores until as late as February in the following year. It is able to withstand cold temperatures and frost conditions.

Strains and yield
In fungi cultivation, fungal strains are analogous to plant varieties in crop breeding. Fungal strains comprise clonal descendants of a single isolation from one fungal colony in a pure culture. Hericium spp. grow in the wild in North America, Europe and Asia and, although there is considerable scientific research about them, they are not commonly industrially produced. Accordingly, there are few commercially available strains in the USA or Europe and little or no breeding for higher yield or other favorable traits has occurred. The production of specialty mushrooms in the USA increased by about 23% between 2010 and 2018 from 16.4 to 20.1 million lbs (7.4 to 9.1 million kg). This increasing consumer interest in specialty mushrooms has encouraged the improvement of shiitake strains.

Grace and Mudge (2015) compared the yield of a commercial strain of Hericium erinaceus and of the three strains of the closely related H. Americanum which were locally isolated from upstate New York. The fungi were grown on wood substrates for five years. While the authors did not observe considerably different yields between the strains, the number of years after inoculation significantly affected the yield which peaked in the third and fourth years.

Wild strains of Hericium spp. can be isolated and cultivated by first gathering fruiting bodies from fallen trees in the mushroom’s natural habitat. The fruiting bodies can then be opened to attain pieces of their inner spore-producing tissue. This tissue is then placed onto petri dishes with agar to cultivate fungal colonies at 25 °C. After several transfers to new petri dishes to verify the purity of the strain, it can be kept at -80 °C for long-term storage.

Product use
H. erinaceus produces edible fruiting bodies that have both culinary and traditional medicinal uses. The mycelium is also used medicinally.

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Culinary uses
Alongside shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms, H. erinaceus can be classified as a specialty mushroom and can be utilized culinarily in a similar fashion as these other, more prevalent edible mushrooms, e.g. by pan-frying in butter. Its flavor is said to be comparable to that of lobster.

Medicinal uses
H. erinaceus has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat gastritis for over a millennium. It is also employed to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system whereby it is often administered as tablets of dried and powdered fruiting bodies. It can also be purchased as H. erinaceus extract. This is produced by first cooking pulverized, dried fruiting bodies in water and/or alcohol to break down fungal cell walls and release both water soluble and insoluble compounds from within the cells. The liquid is then removed, leaving behind a powder that can be purchased and consumed in loose form or in capsules.

In an experiment, in which compounds from a H. erinaceus culture broth were extracted and given to mice, the compounds appeared to have antitumor effects. The test group of mice showed to have an increased amount of T cells and macrophages than the control group, indicating an immuno-enhancing effect of these compounds. Another study indicated that the consumption of H. erinaceus extract could induce apoptosis of human monocytic leukemia cells.

Research suggests that certain compounds in H. erinaceus stimulate the biosynthesis of nerve growth factor (see Chemistry) which could have preventative and therapeutic effects on degenerative neuronal disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, research suggests the intake of H. erinaceus could potentially reduce depression and anxiety.

Chemistry
There are bioactive, medicinally interesting compounds in both the fruiting body and the mycelium of H. erinaceus. It contains a number of polysaccharides, such as β-glucan, heteroglucans, and heteroxylans, as well as several cyathane derivative diterpenoids known as hericenones and erinacines. Hericenones and erinacines have shown to have positive effects on the biosynthesis of nerve growth factor (see Medicinal uses). Different analyses of the aroma compounds in lion’s mane fruiting bodies have determined different dominant compounds, including 1-octen-3-ol, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, 2-ethylpyrazine and 2,6-diethylpyrazine.

Nutritive value
The nutritive value of H. erinaceus fruiting bodies is relatively high, containing 57% carbohydrates, 3.52% fats, 7.81% fiber, 22.3% protein and 9.35% ash of dry matter. Depending on the study, the number of amino acids detected in the fruiting bodies has varied between 14 and 19,. Potassium and phosphorus occur in large concentrations of 254 and 109 mg/100 g dry matter, respectively.