Bioactives from Mushroom and Their Application

This chapter describes the variety and biomedical potential of mushrooms as well as their bioactive compounds. It starts with a description of the structure, growth, and composition of mushroom fungi. A description of polyssacharides (e.g., b-glucan) and polysaccharide–protein complexes was found in different mushrooms, and their potential medical uses are mentioned. In addition, the immunomodulatory bioactivity of b-glucans is illustrated in this section. Terpene compounds as the largest group of anti-inflammatory compounds in mushrooms are addressed. The importance of phenolic compounds acting as free radical inhibitors, peroxide decomposers, metal inactivators, or oxygen scavengers in biological systems is described. Bioactive proteins and peptides, including lectins, which have no enzymatic activity, as well as those bioactive proteins possessing enzymatic activity such as fungal immunomodulatory proteins, ribosome-inactivating proteins, and laccases, are addressed. Finally, other compounds are able to reduce oxidative stress in the endoplasmic reticulum, demonstrating its potential effect in neurodegenerative diseases, and others showing antidepressant properties are also mentioned.