Abstract:
In an increasing healthy self-conscious population, the search for food presenting health benefits or reduction of risk of disease has been increasing in the last years. The concept of pharma-nutrition interface has appeared as a response to characterize this interaction between functional foods and pharmaceutics. Mushrooms are ubiquitous in nature with global biodiversity hotspots, that provide a wide range of nutritional compounds, such as proteins, minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates, and biological activities with potential medicinal value that include anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, antioxidant, and immunomodulation capacities. The most common wild mushrooms widely used due to its pharma-nutrition properties include Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola frondosa, Inonotus obliquus, and Trametes versicolor, with the first one being used as a medicinal mushroom in China for more than 2000 years. The potential for new mycological products to answer to the benefits of a gastronomic delicacy aligned with pharmaceutical properties is of great challenge, since the increasing market demand requires proper regulatory frameworks and quality production schemes to ensure both quality and appropriate medicinal efficiency.
In this matter, this work aimed at acknowledging the main actions on a global food safety and sustainable development perspective integrating food chain steps since harvesting to commercialization of wild mushrooms, by linking both health benefits of target wild mushrooms, together with potential risks associated to its consumption in a preliminary assessment of these prospective valuable market products.
Audience take away notes:
- The beneficial attributes of wild mushrooms,
- The risks associated with wild mushrooms consumption,
- The main actions to be applied on mushroom production systems,
