Mushrooms: Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods

Worldwide 1.5 million fungi are assessed, out of which around 14,000
species produce the fruiting bodies known as mushrooms and around 2000
species are edible and 270 are reported to be medicinal. The fungal
kingdom is phylogenetically closer to man than plant kingdom. So, it is
believed that fungi may give better health benefits to human systems. These
mushrooms with nutraceutical and pharmacological properties may help in
designing of health-enhancing myco-foods and myco-pharmaceuticals. The
nutraceutical word is a juxtaposition of “nutrition” and “pharmaceuticals”
and means any substance which may be considered a food or part of food
and provides health-improving effects, prevents and cures some human
disorders.