Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets

Author:Paul Stamets [Stamets, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 978-1-60774-138-1
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 2011-03-29T16:00:00+00:00

A white Oyster variety of P. ostreatus isolated from Southern California that fruits 10 days from inoculation onto wheat straw.

Medicinal Properties: Recent studies (Gunde-Cimerman et al., 1995, 1999; Bobek et al., 1998) show that Pleurotus ostreatus and other closely related species naturally produce Lovastatin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase), a drug approved by the FDA in 1987 for treating excessive blood cholesterol. More Lovastatin is present in the caps than in the stems, more concentrated on the mature gills, and especially in the spores. One model showed that plasma cholesterol turnover was significantly enhanced by 50% with a corresponding 25% decrease in the liver compared to the controls. (Bobek et al., 1995). This compound and others related to it may explain the often-reported cholesterol-reducing effects of many woodland mushrooms.

When mice were implanted with Sarcoma 180 and Oyster mushrooms constituted 20% of their daily diet, the tumors were inhibited by more than 60% after one month compared to the controls (Ying, 1987). In another study, when rats were fed a diet composed of 5% Oyster mass, and administered dimethylhydrazines to induce tumors, fewer formed than the controls. In this study, Zusman et al. (1997) found that when rats were given corncobs 15% colonized by Oyster mushrooms, they were significantly protected from treatment with chemicals that otherwise induced colon cancer, reducing incidence from 47% to 26%. Corncobs without mycelium provided no protection.

Workers picking mushrooms indoors commonly report allergic reactions to the spores of P. ostreatus. Symptoms include fever, headache, congestion, coughing, sneezing, nausea, and general malaise (Kamm et al., 1991; Horner et al., 1993). Workers, who at first can tolerate contact with Oyster spores, often develop increased sensitivity with continued exposure. Filtration masks help but do not entirely solve this workplace-related problem. The question as to whether or not spores of Oyster mushrooms can carry virus harmful to humans has not yet been satisfactorily answered. Few individuals are allergic to Oyster mushrooms after they have been cooked. For more information, consult Reshef et al. (1988) and Mori et al. (1998). Lehrer et al. (1994) found that, in a comparative study of 701 patients, approximately 10% of Americans and Europeans showed an allergenic response from extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus, while Psilocybe cubensis showed the highest allergenic response, 12% and 16%, respectively.

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