Research on Mushroom as a Potential Source of Nutraceuticals: A Review on Indian Perspective

Mushrooms are highly nutritive, low-calorie food with good quality proteins, vitamins and minerals. Mushrooms are an important natural source of foods and medicines. Traditional aboriginals knew the medicinal importance of edible and wild mushrooms and these are now being screened for their bioactivity in various ailments. Mushroom represents a major and untapped source of potent new pharmaceutical products. A wide range of activities including antitumour, cardiovascular and antimicrobial are reported in mushrooms. In developing countries like India mushroom progress is a boon in the field of food, medicine, and in generating employment. The alternative systems of medicine utilize the curative properties of mushrooms. By virtue of having high fibre, low fat and low starch, edible mushrooms have been considered to be ideal food for obese persons and for diabetics to prevent hyperglycaemia. They are also known to possess promising antioxidative, cardiovascular, hypercholesterolemia, antimicrobial, hepato-protective and anticancer effects. The present review aimed to discuss on mushroom cultivation as well as medicinal importance as nutraceuticals, antioxidatives, cardiovascular, hypercholesterolemia, antimicrobial, hepato-protective, anticancer, clinical trials and availability of mushroom medicines from Indian context.