Did you know that mushrooms should not be consumed raw and that the optimal way to incorporate them into your diet is either in the form of a functional food or as an extract? Raw mushrooms, with their chitinous cell walls, are indigestible to most humans. So, in order to access mushroom nutraceuticals, mushroom cell walls must be broken down.
Over the ages, hot water has traditionally been used for this purpose. As the hot water breaks down the cell walls, the beneficial compounds from the mushroom are released into the water. Scientifically this is known as a decoction or hot water extraction. We call it a tea. Hot water, however, generally only extracts compounds that can dissolve in water.
In order to extract and solubilise the non-water-soluble compounds, you could cook up the mushroom as a broth with some form of fat added to the broth. The water extracts and dissolves the water soluble compounds while the fat extracts and dissolves the non-water-soluble compounds. Consuming the broth and eating up the pieces of mushroom in it allows you to reap all the benefits of the mushroom, including its fibre.
Teas and broths are examples of medicinal mushrooms (generally) being consumed as functional foods.
Since, many medicinal mushrooms are inedible, unpalatable, unavailable or lose their potency if stored poorly – dual mushroom extracts have evolved as a means of conveniently preserving and obtaining mushroom benefits as and when we want to in a concentrated and easily assimilable form.
For the production of a dual extract, a combination of hot water and alcohol are used to break down the mushroom cell walls and release the nutraceuticals (necessary beneficial compounds) into the solution. Each mushroom may require a slightly different process to achieve this. The indigestible fibre is then strained out leaving only key mushroom constituents concentrated, dissolved and preserved in the solution. The 25- 30% alcohol levels maintain the extract for ± 2 years.