No Fungi - No Future! Medicinal mushrooms – QIDOSHA

No Fungi - No Future! Medicinal mushrooms

November 18, 2021from admin

In Asia, mushrooms have been used therapeutically for millennia, and they are also employed as remedies in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Folk medicine in our cultural sphere was influenced and altered during the Middle Ages by church prohibitions and by Chernobyl. In contrast, the use of mushrooms in medicine has remained vibrant throughout Asia to this day.

We have made it our mission to reintegrate mushrooms more firmly into our culture. Ötzi – the Iceman – carried medicinal mushrooms with him during his crossing of the Alps, and Hildegard von Bingen also mentions the power of mushrooms in her writings.

So, basically, it's nothing new: Mushrooms were once an integral part of our culture and were used for medicinal purposes. Unfortunately, this practice has somewhat faded into obscurity.

Our mushroom products are newly launched and therefore brand new to the market. Certain ingredients, such as beta-glucans and triterpenes, are extracted using different methods. Some ingredients are water-soluble, while others only dissolve with alcohol. Our products are extracts, meaning they contain a high concentration of the polysaccharides and glucans relevant to the body. Mushrooms often have a bitter taste, which is why we opted for capsule form.

Mushrooms have a chitinous shell that must be broken down for the mushroom's components to become bioavailable. We achieve this through the so-called shell-broke process: The polysaccharides/beta-glucans cannot be utilized in powder form because they are protected by chitinous cell walls in the mushroom powder, and the human body lacks the chitinase necessary to break down the chitin. During extraction, the aforementioned cell structures are dissolved or broken down using hot water, releasing and concentrating the mushroom-specific polysaccharides. Afterward, the indigestible fiber content (z.B. Parts of the chitin) were strained out and disposed of.

This ensures the best possible bioavailability in our products.

medicinal mushrooms

We always talk about a "natural balance"; this also applies to fungi, because on the one hand there are the lower fungi (molds or yeasts), and on the other hand there are the higher fungi.

Fungi were the first species on land. Plants only arrived millions of years later. In that sense, fungi are the foundation of Earth's formation. Every other species depends on them.

The fungal kingdom is often associated with negative things – poisonous mushrooms, athlete's foot, mold, and so on… all viewed negatively. However, of the 14,000 known fungi, about 2,000 are edible, and approximately 700 contain pharmacologically active substances. Therefore, fungi can certainly do more than harm us. It's worthwhile to delve deeper into this topic. In fungi, we find all the active substances that we find in plants, animals, or insects.

Roots, stem, branches, leaves, and flowers all belong to the fungal mycelium – the fungal body is the fruiting body of the fungus. Fungi are familiar with viruses, bacteria, molds, and yeasts. Higher fungi have developed substances over countless years to protect themselves from all of these. Therefore, we can expect something positive from them, because we as mammals have the same enemies as fungi.

Among the "higher fungi" there are

Saprobionts - The "Garbage collection“They ensure a closed nutrient cycle within an ecosystem. They break down the organic material and use the resulting organic molecules for their own energy and building metabolism. Since they themselves are part of the ecosystem's food web, these organic substances are returned to the biogenic nutrient cycle.”This includes mushrooms such as button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or reishi.
parasites - The "Health Police“, which primarily attacks already damaged organisms and thus fulfills a similar function to the pike in a carp pond. The pike ensures a healthy population of its prey by selectively eating sick and weak ones. For example, the honey fungus (the largest living organism in the world – larger than the blue whale).”
Symbionts/Mycorrhizal fungi - The "Partner mushroom“It lives on give and take. The fungus spins its mycelium into a network around the root tips of its partner tree. These fine branches of the mycelium can absorb soil minerals more effectively than the tree's roots. Symbionts can therefore be used very effectively in agriculture. The fungi then pass the minerals on to the tree, which needs them for its growth. In return, the tree provides the fungus with carbohydrates, which it cannot produce itself. Approximately 90-95% of all plants on the planet form underground symbiotic relationships with fungi. The chanterelle mushroom, for example, is one such fungus.”

1g of forest soil contains approximately 1000m³ of mushroom mycelium.