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Neuronal health – can culinary and medicinal mushrooms help?
This 2013 article focuses on the potential health benefits provided by edible mushrooms such as hericium erinaceus. H. erinaceus has already established itself as a top candidate to promote brain and nerve health. There are several other mushrooms like Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola frondosa and Sarcodon scabrosus that have shown promise in enhancing neuronal health. However, the number of mushrooms examined is very low relative to the 2000+ existing species of edible and/or medicinal mushrooms identified. Indigineous mushrooms used in traditional medicines such as Lignosus rhinocerotis and Ganoderma neo-japonicum are being assessed. The question posed by the author here is whether these edible and medicinal mushrooms can be used to tackle the health issues experienced by the currently aging population, who may suffer from age-related neurodegenerative disorders in the future. The number of people aged 65 and over is projected to be greater than 80-90 million by 2050. If these health problems are to be controlled, scientists will need to understand the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the stimulation of neurite outgrowth. Although it may be difficult to extrapolate results seen in current studies into what may happen in the human brain, the daily consumption of mushrooms appears to improve cognitive ability in older people.
[NPID: mushrooms, alternative, hericium erinaceus, edible mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms, health, aging]
Year: 2013
