2 Mushrooms as a Food
There is increasing experimentally-based evidence to support centuries of observations regarding the nutritional (and medicinal benefits) of mushrooms. Mushrooms .﹒﹒﹒﹒﹒
Table 1 Proximate composition of three mushroom species[3]
All data are presented as percentage of dry weight, except moisture (percentage of fresh weight) and energy value (Kcal per 100 g dry weight).
8 Concluding Remarks
Medicinal mushroom-derived products are neither nutraceuticals (food/functional food) nor pharmaceuticals (drugs), because the active ingredient of most products is not a single, chemically defined compound as used in conventional drug treatments. Therefore, they may be classified as a type of nutriceutical or as a dietary supplement or traditional medicine which is a category between food and drugs. .﹒﹒﹒﹒﹒
References
[1]Chang ST, Miles PG. Edible Mushrooms and Their Cultivation. 1989, CRC Press, Boca Raton (FL).
[2]Xue CC, O’Brien KA. Modalities of Chinese medicine. In: Leung PC, Xue CC and Cheng YC (eds), Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Medicine. World Scientific, Singapore, 2003, 19-46.