Importance of Mushroom Cultivation Presentation By

Mr.Allah Dad Khan

Importance

• Mushroom cultivation can directly improve livelihoods through economic, nutritional and medicinal contributions. However, it is essential to note that some mushrooms are poisonous and may even be lethal, thus the need for extra caution in identifying those species that can be consumed as food.

Importance

• Mushroom cultivation can help reduce vulnerability to poverty and strengthens livelihoods through the generation of a fast yielding and nutritious source of food and a reliable source of income.

• Since it does not require access to land, mushroom cultivation is a viable and attractive activity for both rural farmers and peri-urban dwellers.

Nutrition

• Mushrooms both add flavour to bland staple foods and are a valuable food in their own right: they are often considered to provide a fair substitute for meat, with at least a comparable nutritional value to many vegetables

• The consumption of mushrooms can make a valuable addition to the often unbalanced diets of people in developing countries. Fresh mushrooms have a high water content, around 90 percent, so drying them is an effective way to both prolonge their shelf-life and preserve their flavour and nutrient

• Mushrooms are a good source of vitamin B, C and D, including niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and folate, and various minerals including potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. They provide carbohydrates, but are low in fat and fibre, and contain no starch

• Furthermore, edible mushrooms are an excellent source of high quality protein (reportedly between 19 percent and 35 percent), and white button mushrooms contain more protein than kidney beans. In addition to all the essential amino acids, some mushrooms have medicinal benefits of certain polysaccharides, which are known to boost the immune system

Medicinal Value

• Medicinal fungi have routinely been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Today, an estimated six percent of edible mushrooms are known to have medicinal properties and can be found in health tonics, tinctures, teas, soups and herbal formulas. Lentinula edodes (shiitake) and Volvariella volvacea (Chinese or straw mushroom) are edible fungi with medicinal properties widely diffused and cultivated.

• Shiitake are said to have antitumour and antiviral properties and remove serum cholesterol from the blood stream. Other species, such as Pleurotus (oyster), Auricularia (mu-er), Flammulina (enokitake), Termella (yin-er) and Grifola (maitake), all have varying degrees of immune system boosting, lipidlowering, anti-tumour, microbial and viral properties, blood pressure regulating, and other therapeutic

Income benefits

• Mushroom cultivation activities can play an important role in supporting the local economy by contributing to subsistence food security, nutrition, and medicine; generating additional employment and income through local, regional and national trade; and offering opportunities for processing enterprises

Livelihood opportunities • Trade in cultivated mushrooms can provide a readily

available and important source of cash income - for men and women and the old, infirm and disabled alike The role played by women in rural mushroom production can be very significant. Certain parts of the mushroom cultivation process, such as filling substrates in containers and harvesting, are ideally suited for women’s participation. Several programmes have enhanced women’s empowerement through mushroom production by giving them the opportunity to gain farming skills, financial independence and selfrespect

• Small-scale growing does not include any significant capital investment: mushroom substrate can be prepared from any clean agricultural waste material, and mushrooms can be produced in temporary clean shelters.

• They can be cultivated on a part-time basis, and require little maintenance.

• Indirectly, mushroom cultivation also provides opportunities for improving the sustainability of small farming systems through the recycling of organic matter, which can be used as a growing substrate, and then returned to the land as fertilizer

• Through the provision of income and improved nutrition, successful cultivation and trade in mushrooms can strengthen livelihood assets, which can not only reduce vulnerability to shocks, but enhance an individual’s and a community’s capacity to act upon other economic opportunities.

• Mushrooms, though classified as vegetables in the food world, are not technically plants. They belong to the fungi kingdom and although they are not vegetables, mushrooms provide several important nutrients.

The Importance of Mushroom Cultivation

• Nutritional value• Protein content, 3-7% when fresh and 25- 40% when

dry. Contain all essential amino acids, amides and lysine.• Medicinal value• Consumption of mushrooms slows down the spread and

effect of cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS (by boosting immune system).

• Income generation and• Employment creation.

Advantages of Mushroom Growing

• Use of idle structures,• Involvement of small initial capital,• Possible production all the year round• Use of Agricultural waste as substrate- mostly

waste materials from farms, plantations or factories.

• Is a Biodegrader hence environmental con-server.

• Consumption benefits of mushrooms.• Contain all essential amino acids• Has Vit.C, cynocobalimin (Vit,B12) content

found only in animal products• Low in sodium ideal for people with heart and

kidney ointments.• Have iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus

and folic acid.

• i) Cap (pileus)- Colour (white, grey, yellow) and shape (umbrella, kidney, cap) depend on species

• ii) Stype (stem)- Stype is stem like structure that supports the pileus and transports nutrients from the substrate to other parts of mushroom.

• iii) Gills -tissues that produce spores.

• iv) Mycelia- absorbs nutrients from substrate

• 1) Cancer• Mushrooms contain just as high an antioxidant capacity as carrots,

tomatoes, green and red peppers, pumpkins, green beans, and zucchini.4

• Selenium is a mineral that is not present in most fruits and vegetables but can be found in mushrooms. It plays a role in liver enzyme function, and helps detoxify some cancer-causing compounds in the body. Additionally, selenium preventsinflammation and also decreases tumor growth rates.2

• The vitamin D in mushrooms has also been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells by contributing to the regulation of the cell growth cycle. The folate in mushrooms plays an important role in DNA synthesis and repair, thus preventing the formation of cancer cells from mutations in the DNA

• 2) Diabetes• Studies have shown that type 1 diabetics who

consume high-fiber diets have lower blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetics may have improved blood sugar, lipids and insulin levels. One cup of grilled portabella mushrooms and one cup of stir-fried shiitake mushrooms both provide about 3 grams of fiber.

• The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 21-25 g/day for women and 30-38 g/day for men.

• 3) Heart health• The fiber, potassium and vitamin C content in

mushrooms all contribute to cardiovascular health. Potassium and sodium work together in the body to help regulate blood pressure. Consuming mushrooms, which are high in potassium and low in sodium helps to lower blood pressure and decrease the risk ofhigh blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.

• Additionally, an intake of 3 grams of beta-glucans per day can lower blood cholesterol levels by 5%.

• 4) Immunity• Selenium has also been found to improve

immune response to infection by stimulating production of killer T-cells. The beta-glucan fibers found in the cell walls of mushrooms stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells and prevent tumors from forming

• 5) Weight management and satiety• Dietary fiber plays an important role in weight

management by functioning as a "bulking agent" in the digestive system. Mushrooms contain two types of dietary fibers in their cell walls: beta-glucans and chitin which increase satiety and reduce appetite, making you feel fuller longer and thereby lowering your overall calorie intake.

• Nutrients. Mushrooms are a good source of numerous nutrients. Data presented in Figure 7 demonstrate this with Crimini mushrooms. They are an excellent source (contain over 20% of the RDA in a serving) of selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and copper and are a good source (contain over 10% of RDA) for niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and potassium. Criminis also contain rich amounts of thiamin (Vitamin B1), zinc, vitamin B6, protein, folic acid, fiber, manganese and magnesium. On the other hand, mushrooms are low in fat, sodium and calories.

• Vitamin D. Recent research has shown that when UV light is shined on mushrooms, there is a major boost in the vitamin D2 content of the mushrooms. A single serving of mushrooms will contain over 800% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin D2 once exposed to just five minutes of UV light after being harvested. This may be a convenient way for people who do not eat fish or drink milk to obtain their daily requirement of vitamin D. Dietary fiber (DF). Mushrooms contain numerous complex carbohydrates including polysaccharides such as glucans and glycogen, monosaccharides, disaccharides, sugar alcohols and chitin. Most polysaccharides are structural components of the cell walls (chitin and glucans) and are indigestible by humans; thus they may be considered as dietary fiber. Dietary fiber may help to prevent many diseases prevalent in affluent societies. Portobello mushrooms contain a higher level of DF than the white variety of mushrooms. Selenium. A serving (3 ounces) of Crimini mushrooms provides almost one-third of the RDA for selenium, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. Selenium has been shown to decrease prostate cancer by more than 60% according to findings from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging. Men with the lowest blood selenium levels were 4-5 times more likely to have prostate cancer than those with the highest selenium levels and that selenium levels tend to decrease with age.

• Selenium levels can be reliably increased in mushrooms by adding sodium selenite to mushroom compost. Some commercial supplement makers are now adding this compound to their delayed release nutrients for mushroom culture.

• Potassium. Crimini mushrooms are a good source of potassium, an element that is important in the regulation of blood pressure, maintenance of water in fat and muscle, and to ensure the proper functioning of cells. A 3-ounce Portobello contains more potassium than a banana or an orange. To date, attempts to enhance the potassium content of mushrooms have met with only limited success.

• Antioxidants. Portobello and Crimini mushrooms are good sources of antioxidants and rank with carrots, green beans, red peppers and broccoli as good sources of dietary antioxidants. They are rich sources of polyphenols that are the primary antioxidants in vegetables and are the best source of L-ergothioneine (ERGO) – a potent antioxidant only produced in nature by fungi. Crimini mushrooms contain over 15 times more ERGO than the previously best-known dietary sources of ERGO.

• Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of macrofungi. They include both edible/medicinal and poisonous species. However, originally, the word “mushroom” was used for the edible members of macrofungi and “toadstools” for poisonous ones of the “gill” macrofungi. Scientifically the term “toadstool” has no meaning at all and it has been proposed that the term is dropped altogether in order to avoid confusion and the terms edible, medicinal and poisonous mushrooms are used.

• Edible mushrooms once called the “food of the gods” and still treated as a garnish or delicacy can be taken regularly as part of the human diet or be treated as healthy food or as functional food. The extractable products from medicinal mushrooms, designed to supplement the human diet not as regular food, but as the enhancement of health and fitness, can be classified into the category of dietary supplements/mushroom nutriceuticals (Chang and Buswell, 1996). Dietary supplements are ingredients extracted from foods, herbs, mushrooms and other plants that are taken without further modification for their presumed health-enhancing benefits.

• There is an old Chinese saying which states that “MEDICINES AND FOODS HAVE A COMMON ORIGIN”. Mushrooms constitute a most rapidly growing new food category which the current health-oriented public is increasingly enjoying.