Organic Mushroom Complex: Seven Fungi, Their Origins and How to Use Them
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Functional mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine across East and Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Seven of the most widely studied and used species are included in our Organic Super Seven Mushroom Complex. This post covers what each species is, where it comes from traditionally, and what our product contains.
The seven fungi
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
Reishi is a shelf fungus that grows on hardwood trees across Asia and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years, where it is known as lingzhi (“spirit mushroom”). It contains polysaccharides, triterpenes and beta-glucans. Reishi is bitter in taste and is rarely used in cooking — it is consumed almost exclusively in extract or supplement form.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
Chaga is a parasitic fungus that grows primarily on birch trees in cold northern climates across Russia, Scandinavia and Canada. It has been used in Russian and Siberian folk medicine since the 16th century, traditionally brewed as a tea. It has an unusually high antioxidant content for a fungus and contains beta-glucans, polyphenols and betulinic acid.
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
Shiitake is one of the most widely cultivated edible mushrooms in the world and has been grown and eaten in East Asia for at least 1,000 years. It is as well known as a food ingredient as it is as a supplement, and is a source of lentinan, a beta-glucan polysaccharide that has been widely researched.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
Maitake (“dancing mushroom” in Japanese) grows wild at the base of oak, elm and maple trees in Japan, China and North America. It is both an edible culinary mushroom and a traditional medicine ingredient. It is particularly rich in D-fraction beta-glucans and polysaccharides.
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Lion’s Mane is a distinctive white, pom-pom-shaped mushroom that grows on hardwood trees. It has been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for centuries and is also eaten as food in East Asian cuisines, where its texture resembles crab or lobster meat. It is the subject of growing research interest for its unique compounds hericenones and erinacines.
Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis / Cordyceps militaris)
Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that grows on the larvae of insects at high altitudes in the Himalayan regions of China, Nepal and Tibet. Wild cordyceps is extraordinarily rare and expensive; supplement-grade cordyceps is typically cultivated on grain substrates. It has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries and is one of the most researched medicinal mushrooms.
Tremella (Tremella fuciformis)
Tremella is a jelly fungus that grows on wood across tropical and subtropical Asia. Known as the “snow mushroom” or “silver ear mushroom,” it has been used in Chinese medicine and cuisine for centuries and is known for its unusual ability to retain water — its polysaccharides are highly hydrophilic.
What are beta-glucans?
Beta-glucans are a class of structural polysaccharides found in the cell walls of mushrooms, oats and certain yeasts. They are one of the primary reasons functional mushrooms have attracted research interest — beta-glucan content is typically used as a quality marker in mushroom supplements. Our product uses full-spectrum mushroom extracts to retain the complete range of naturally occurring compounds.
Our product
Our Organic Super Seven Mushroom Complex Capsules contain equal amounts of all seven mushroom extracts in a plant-based HPMC capsule, with no fillers, binders or flowing agents. Part of our organic supplements range. Soil Association certified organic. Made in-house at our SALSA-accredited facility in Leicestershire. Packaged plastic-free.
