Natural Products Derived from Fungi and Their Biological Activities

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 1860

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Medyczna 9, 30-688 Kraków, Poland
Interests: medicinal mushrooms; mycelial cultures; biotechnology; bioactive compounds; pro-health activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal fungi are products that have been present in human life for centuries. On the one hand, mushrooms were appreciated for their flavor, aroma, and nutritional potential, while on the other hand they were a source of bioactive substances and were used as medicines. In recent years, due to the development of analytical techniques, more and more properties of fungi are being recognized and their specific mechanisms of action are being determined. It has been proven that fungi exhibit a number of activities, including antioxidant, immunostimulating, antimicrobial, anti-atherosclerotic, or anti-inflammatory effects. Despite the numerous reports on fungi, there is a constant need for new works on a broad and comprehensive analysis of such natural products, so that they can be used in the prevention and treatment of diseases.

This Special Issue covers any aspect connected to medicinal fungi, brief reports, communications, research articles, as well as reviews.

Dr. Katarzyna J. Kała
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fungi
  • medicinal fungi
  • fruiting bodies
  • mycelial cultures
  • bioactive compounds
  • pro-health activity
  • mushroom products
  • natural therapy
  • natural medicines

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 681 KiB  
Article
Coffee with Cordyceps militaris and Hericium erinaceus Fruiting Bodies as a Source of Essential Bioactive Substances
by Katarzyna Kała, Małgorzata Cicha-Jeleń, Kamil Hnatyk, Agata Krakowska, Katarzyna Sułkowska-Ziaja, Agnieszka Szewczyk, Jan Lazur and Bożena Muszyńska
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(7), 955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17070955 - 17 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1408
Abstract
Drinking coffee is a daily routine for many people. Supplement manufacturers have proposed adding powdered Cordyceps militaris, known for its ergogenic and immunostimulating properties, and Hericium erinaceus, known for its nerve growth factor (NGF)-stimulating properties, to coffee. The aim of this [...] Read more.
Drinking coffee is a daily routine for many people. Supplement manufacturers have proposed adding powdered Cordyceps militaris, known for its ergogenic and immunostimulating properties, and Hericium erinaceus, known for its nerve growth factor (NGF)-stimulating properties, to coffee. The aim of this work was to compare the bioactive substances in three types of coffee: machine-brewed, instant, and traditionally brewed, prepared with the addition of H. erinaceus and C. militaris fruiting bodies. The analysis of bioactive substances was performed using AAS and RP-HPLC methods. Among the control samples of coffee, traditionally brewed coffee was the best source of bioelements. Considering the mushroom species tested, the best additional source of Mg, Zn, Cu, Na, K, and Ca was C. militaris. A slightly higher Fe content was determined for H. erinaceus. With the addition of C. militaris, the amounts of 4-feruloylquinic acid (18.6 mg/200 mL) and 3,5-di-caffeoylquinic acid (3.76 mg/200 mL) also increased. In conclusion, the C. militaris species has been proven to be a better source of bioactive substances as a coffee additive in the daily diet. The combination of brewed coffee and the tested mushrooms seems to be the most beneficial in terms of health-promoting effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products Derived from Fungi and Their Biological Activities)
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