Taking Quality as Life, Organic High-quality Extract Products of Edible and Medicinal Fungi

Logo of Zhejiang Biosan Biotech. Co., Ltd.

Macrofungi with nutritive value and medicinal value are collectively called edible and medicinal fungi, and commonly known as mushrooms. The medicinal value and health efficacy of edible and medicinal fungi have become increasingly known to consumers and a large number of health foods and dietary supplements produced with extracts of edible and medicinal fungi as the raw material has come to the market, especially, Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), Cordyceps sinensis, Inonotus obliquus, Grifola frondosa, and Hericium erinaceus, etc., in recent years as scientists’ research on the active ingredients and functions of edible and medicinal fungi gradually increases. As the market demands increase, the edible and medicinal fungus extract industry rapidly develops, however, the quality of extract products of edible and medicinal fungi varies greatly on the market as beset by raw material quality, processing technology, and detection means, etc., and the cheap low-quality products seriously affect the industry development. How to produce and identify high-quality extracts of edible and medicinal fungi has become a focus of the industry. As a high-tech enterprise focusing on R&D, production, and sales of high-quality edible and medicinal fungus products, Zhejiang Biosan Biotech. Co., Ltd. has accumulated valuable experience in production and detection of high-quality extracts of edible and medicinal fungi.

Making good products with good raw materials

The quality of raw edible and medicinal fungi determines the quality of the final extract products. The cultivation environment, culture media, and cultivation method of edible and medicinal fungi have large impacts on the raw material quality. Some varieties of edible and medicinal fungi, such as Agaricus subrufescens, enrich heavy metals, and have strict requirements for soil and water, etc., therefore, it is crucial to select the cultivation environment and culture media without ecological pollution. The cultivation base shall be relatively isolated from farmland, and pesticide shall not be used during the cultivation, to avoid excessive pesticide residues of the edible and medicinal fungi. For wood-decay fungi like Reishi, it is better to use basswood cultivation, as the active ingredient content of the edible and medicinal fungi produced is higher than that produced through substitute cultivation. The active ingredient content of different parts of edible and medicinal fungi varies, and parts with low active ingredient content such as stipe shall often be removed during the extraction. Quality of the raw edible and medicinal fungi used for extraction shall be strictly controlled. Besides the routine physical and chemical testing, it is essential to detect the metal content and pesticide residue thereof.

Zhejiang Biosan Company has established cultivation demonstration bases of organic edible and medicinal fungi such as Reishi, mushroom, Grifola frondosa, Hericium erinaceus, and Tremella fuciformis in Zhejiang Longquan, Qingyuan, and Fujian Gutian, etc. according to European and American organic standards, and successively passed the organic certification of the U.S., EU, and China. Those bases have beautiful environment, fresh air, and clear water, are quite suitable for the growth of edible and medicinal fungi, and are origin of mushrooms, with long history in mushroom planting.

The Organic Reishi Base in Longquan, Zhejiang, the “Home of Ganoderma Lucidum”

Processing good products with new process

The main active ingredient of extracts of edible and medicinal fungi is fungal polysaccharides (β-glucan), and water is generally used as the extraction solvent; edible alcohol is used for extraction of the triterpene lipid-soluble active ingredients. Acid-base extraction is undesirable as acid-base may damage the structure of active polysaccharides though such extraction can improve product yield. Production of natural mushroom extracts shall even avoid the use of organic solvents other than edible alcohol.

Currently, the two common difficult problems in production of extracts of edible and medicinal fungi are bonding of spray drying tower and excessive heavy metals. Many low molecular weight sugars are also extracted during the extraction, and due to low melting points, they easily bond on the tower wall during spray drying, leading to decline in product yield; and the reason for excessive heavy metals is that the extract production is a concentration process, generally requiring 8-15kg raw materials to produce 1kg extracts. To solve those problems, auxiliary materials like dextrin and starch are added during spray drying, which cannot only reduce bonding and dilute heavy metals, but also improve yield and product polysaccharide content, achieving many things at one stroke. However, the crude polysaccharide content of edible and medicinal fungus extracts added with auxiliary materials also includes the inactive polysaccharide auxiliary materials added, and cannot accurately reflect the content of the active polysaccharides (β-glucan) thereof.

Zhejiang Biosan Company innovatively applies advanced technologies like enzyme engineering and membrane separation in the production of extracts of edible and medicinal fungi, wherein, the ultrafiltration-nanofiltration membrane separation technology adopted is the first case of the technology in the edible and medicinal fungi processing industry, has obtained the relevant Chinese invention patent (granted), and can remove the small molecule compounds such as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, heavy metals, and pesticide residue in the extracting solution, to effectively solve the problems of bonding of spray drying tower and excessive heavy metals, etc., eliminate use of auxiliary materials, and produce the 100% pure extracts of the edible and medicinal fungi.

Ultrafiltration-Nanofiltration Membrane Separation System

Identifying good products through accurate detection

Research of the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, University of Macau, S.A.R., China detected active ingredients such as Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides and Ganoderma lucidum triterpenes of 19 Reishi dietary supplement products purchased from the U.S., and the results showed that the content of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides and content of Ganoderma lucidum triterpenes of most products were lower than the data on the product labels, and the component content of only 5 samples (26.3%) was consistent with that on their product labels. Many products in the present extract industry lack unified product quality standards, with quality varying greatly, adulterating methods emerge in an endless stream, such as adding auxiliary materials or synthetic active ingredients, selling seconds at best quality prices, and substituting one for another, and the detection means are imperfect, leading to market disorder and affecting the sound development of the entire industry.

When detecting extracts of edible and medicinal fungi, firstly, identify whether they are added with auxiliary materials, and then detect their active ingredients. When detecting active ingredients, obtain more accurate results through HPLC, LC-MS, and enzyme reagent kit, etc., besides the routine UV detection. When identifying whether synthetic active ingredients are added, consider the C14 isotope measurement method. With regard to the problem of substituting one for another, identify products through DNA fingerprinting technology, to determine whether they use the authentic raw materials. Finally, it’s necessary to point out that detection of product physicochemical and microbial indicators, heavy metal content, and pesticide residue shall be the required items for each batch of products, and third-party test reports shall be furnished, if necessary.

Zhejiang Biosan Company has established perfect quality control system and analysis platform, to conduct quality control over the whole industry chain from raw materials to products, with the analysis platform equipped with UV spectrophotometer, HPLC, and other detecting instruments, and adopting advanced analysis and detection methods such as HPLC, and enzyme reagent kit. Each batch of products is sent to a third-party laboratory to detect the heavy metal content and pesticide residue, to ensure the product quality.

Organic Reishi extract       Organic Grifola frondosa extract

As a high-tech enterprise specialized in planting, processing, R&D, and sales of edible and medicinal fungus products, Zhejiang Biosan Biotech. Co., Ltd., depending on modern advanced science and technology, fully taps and exploits the medicinal value of edible and medicinal fungi, etc., and manufactures accurately the foods for nutrition intervention of major chronic diseases as well as the functional and health foods for the old and sub-healthy people group. The company has established a deep-processing factory of edible fungi in Lishui, Zhejiang, which covers an area of 30mu and has a building area of 26,500m², with the workshops successively passing certification of health food GMP, food SC, and ISO 22000 International Food Safety Management System; the company has established over 1,000mu organic edible fungi planting bases in Zhejiang Qingyuan, Longquan, and Fujian Gutian, etc. Many mushroom products of the company have passed the organic certification of the U.S., EU, and China, as well as the Kosher certification, etc.

Adhering to the idea “Quality is Our Life”, the company uses “Biosan” as its name, and “Lugumingzhu” as its brand, and just like Baishanzu, the Evergreen Valley in East China, aims at permanently delivering the edible fungus products from the forest, benefiting thousands of households with safe and quality mushroom products, and serving the health of the people!