Mushrooms of the genus Agaricus are noted for their pharmacological and culinary properties. In this study, it was performed a critical literature review, focusing primarily on aspects of the chemical composition of these mushrooms whose pharmacological properties and nutritional composition characterize them as functional foods. It was also discussed articles conducted in vitro and in vivo pro...

A well resolved phylogeny of the Agaricaceae based on partial rpb2 sequences is presented from a wide geographic and systematic sampling of the family and compared to phylogenies based on nrLSU and tef1 sequences. A smaller dataset of the family focusing on the Agaricus clade of nrITS sequences and a combined dataset were used to determine the position of several white-spored taxa from northern...

The medicinal mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill from the Brazilian rain forest has been used in traditional medicine and as health food for the prevention of a range of diseases, including infection, allergy, and cancer. Other scientists and we have examined whether there is scientific evidence behind such postulations. Agaricus blazei M is rich in the immunomodulating polysaccharides, β-glucans,...

Besides their traditional food usage, mushrooms can be used as a source of many pharmacologically active compounds, especially polysaccharides. Wastes left over in the edible mushroom farms such as Agaricus bisporus (white button mushroom) can also become free and alternative source of chitin-chitosan materials, beside the traditional industrial source shellfish waste materials. Chitosan, a nat...

The cultivated mushroom of commerce in the Western hemisphere, Agaricus bisporus, was given p.o. to randomly bred Swiss mice for 3 days and was followed by semisynthetic diet for 4 days each week for life. The mice were 6 weeks old at the beginning of the experiment. As a result of treatment, tumors were induced in the bone, forestomach, liver, and lungs in the following incidences: 16, 38, 8, ...

Agaricus blazei Murill is an edible mushroom of the Basidiomycetes family, which has been found to contain a number of compounds with antitumor properties, such as proteoglycans and ergosterol. In the present investigation, we show that the commercial mushroom product Andosan, which contains 82.4% Agaricus blazei Murill, together with medicinal mushrooms Hericium erinaceus (14.7%) and Grifola f...

Hot-water extracts of the mycelial culture and fruiting bodies of Agaricus blazei Murill were fractionated by ethanol precipitation, using various ethanol concentrations. The mycelial fraction (A-4) inhibited abnormal collagen fiber formation, and fractions A-1 to A-3 showed a small inhibitory effect. The strongest inhibition was obtained by fraction A-4, and no significant inhibition was obser...

Mushrooms are considered rich in proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients. The present study was carried out to evaluate some edible mushrooms of Kashmir valley for their protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents. The highest protein content was found in Boletus edulis (2.20g) followed by Agaricus bisporus (1.80g), Pleurotus ostreatus (1.68g), Morchella esculenta (1.62g) and Pleurotus sajor c...