General Details
Product name: Shiitake extract
Plant latin name: Lentinula edodes
Product specifications: Polysaccharides ≥30%, 40% by UV
Appearance: Brown powder
Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) have been used in China for thousands of years. It is known both as a food and as a medicinal fungus. Shiitake mushrooms have long been believed to boost energy, treat colds, and eliminate intestinal parasites. Shiitake mushrooms contain fat, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Its key ingredient in shiitake extract is a polysaccharide called Lentinan. Mushroom polysaccharide is extracted from the crushed mycelium of shiitake mushroom, which is rich in polysaccharides and lignin.
There are more than ten amino acids in shiitake extract, including seven essential amino acids such as isoleucine, lysine, phenylalanine, methionine, threonine, valine, and vitamins B1, B2, PP and mineral salts, and crude fiber.
Lentinan in shiitake extract is an anti-tumor ingredient with a molecular weight of 1 million. In addition, it also contains components that reduce blood lipids – lentysin, lentinan, and adenine derivatives. Shiitake extract contains antiviral ingredients, double-stranded RNA, and an interferon inducer. Shiitake extract is very high in unsaturated fatty acids. They include a large amount of ergosterol and mycosterol that can be converted into vitamin D, which have good effects on enhancing disease resistance, preventing colds, and treating them. Regular consumption is beneficial to the prevention of rickets in the human body, especially in infants, due to lack of vitamin D caused by blood phosphorus and calcium metabolism disorders, and can prevent various mucous membrane and dermatitis diseases of the human body. The lentysin contained in shiitake extract can prevent arteriosclerosis and lower blood pressure. The components that lower serum cholesterol (C8H1104N5, C9H1103N5) are also isolated from shiitake mushrooms.
Health Benefits
Reducing serum cholesterol
Shiitake extract can reduce serum cholesterol. 80% of the mushroom fiber is chitin. Chitin reduces serum cholesterol. Shiitake extract also contains shiitake purines. A 1971 trial showed that shiitake purines lowered cholesterol by 5% to 10%. Another type of cholesterol-fighting substance in shiitake mushrooms is Lentinan. Shiitake mushroom extract reduced serum cholesterol by 25 to 45% in the blood of mice fed with high cholesterol. It activates the processing and activation of cholesterol in the liver, and the test showed a significant hepatoprotective effect on test mice affected by liver-damaging compounds.
Boosting immune system
Current research focuses on the function of shiitake extract as an immune stimulant and its ability to fight numerous diseases, including atherosclerosis, cancer, bacterial and viral infections, etc.
Studies have shown that shiitake extract contains many substances used in treating patients with viral infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The antiviral activity of shiitake extract may be due to its ability to produce natural chemicals, such as interferons, that produce immunity to virus-infected cells.
Anticancer activity
Lentinan can shrink tumors. Lentinan is currently being used experimentally as an anticancer drug that stimulates the production of T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Scientists are convinced that Lentinan inhibits cancerous tumors by stimulating specific white blood cells with significant immune function.