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Current and Future Research Trends on Medicinal Mushrooms, 2nd Edition
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Current and Future Research Trends on Medicinal Mushrooms, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 3318

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Giuseppe Venturella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy
Interests: fungal and plant taxonomy; biodiversity; medicinal mushrooms; forest and urban diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal mushrooms have been used throughout the world for centuries. Research, initially carried out only in the East until the 1990s, has since spread to other parts of the world and today represents an important branch of applied mycological studies. Medicinal mushrooms are credited with countless beneficial properties and exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiallergic, antidepressive, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, digestive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, osteoprotective, and hypotensive. Despite the presence of ca. 5777 publications on medicinal mushrooms in the archives of the biomedical and life sciences literature, research in this area is still insufficient, especially with regard to evidence-based medicine. Medicinal mushrooms are used in the form of extracts or powder to prevent, relieve, or heal diseases and/or for nutritional reasons. The wide range of mushroom-based products on the market are not always of established origin and are sometimes of dubious taxonomic identification, and therefore, they do not meet the required quality criteria. For the reasons stated above, the proposal for a Special Issue on medicinal mushrooms is certainly timely and is intended to assemble contributions from experts around the world on the biodiversity of medicinal mushrooms; new trends in the cultivation, industrial production and fermentation of medicinal mushrooms; biochemistry and pharmacology of medicinal mushroom active compounds; the use of medicinal mushrooms in veterinary science and agriculture and in clinical practice; and the production of new mushroom-based products.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Venturella
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • medicinal mushroom
  • biodiversity
  • cultivation
  • industrial production
  • fermentation
  • biochemistry
  • pharmacology
  • active compounds

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 3921 KiB  
Article
Ex Situ Conservation, DNA Barcoding and Enzymatic Potential Evaluation of Macrofungi (Basidiomycota, Ascomycota) from Vietnam
by Nadezhda V. Psurtseva, Anna A. Kiyashko, Svetlana V. Senik and Thi Ha Giang Pham
J. Fungi 2025, 11(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11010034 - 4 Jan 2025
Viewed by 815
Abstract
The diversity and resource potential of macroscopic fungi in tropical regions remain understudied. Vietnam, being in a biodiversity hotspot, has a large number of new fungal species that are of interest for biotechnology and medicine. The presence of a large number of protected [...] Read more.
The diversity and resource potential of macroscopic fungi in tropical regions remain understudied. Vietnam, being in a biodiversity hotspot, has a large number of new fungal species that are of interest for biotechnology and medicine. The presence of a large number of protected areas in Vietnam creates favorable opportunities for the study and ex situ conservation of tropical biodiversity. From 2012 to 2023, 785 strains of macrofungi from National Parks of Vietnam were preserved in the LE-BIN collection, 327 of which were barcoded with the sequences deposited in the NCBI GenBank. A taxonomic analysis demonstrated that many of the preserved isolates are potentially new or poorly studied species, representing a useful resource for taxonomical studies and a search for new medicinal mushrooms. More than 180 strains were studied for the first time for growth rate and enzymatic activities. Of these, 53 strains showed high growth rate, 43—high cellulolytic activity, 73—high oxidative enzymes activity, and 27 showed high proteolytic activity, making them promising candidates for biotechnological and medical applications and opening new opportunities for sustainable biomass management, discovery of new enzymes and bioactive substances, development of new drugs and efficient plant waste treatment technologies. The results confirm the importance of the ex situ conservation of fungal diversity in tropical regions as a valuable source for scientific and commercial applications and suggest certain new active strains for biotechnological study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Research Trends on Medicinal Mushrooms, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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24 pages, 2933 KiB  
Review
Exploring Psilocybe cubensis Strains: Cultivation Techniques, Psychoactive Compounds, Genetics and Research Gaps
by Eyal Kurzbaum, Tomáš Páleníček, Amiel Shrchaton, Sara Azerrad and Yaron Dekel
J. Fungi 2025, 11(2), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11020099 - 28 Jan 2025
Viewed by 856
Abstract
Psilocybe cubensis, a widely recognized psychoactive mushroom species, has played a significant role in both historical and modern therapeutic practices. This review explores the complex interplay between genetic diversity, strain variability and environmental factors that shape the biosynthesis of key psychoactive compounds, [...] Read more.
Psilocybe cubensis, a widely recognized psychoactive mushroom species, has played a significant role in both historical and modern therapeutic practices. This review explores the complex interplay between genetic diversity, strain variability and environmental factors that shape the biosynthesis of key psychoactive compounds, including psilocybin and psilocin. With many strains exhibiting substantial variability in their phenotypic characteristics and biochemical content, understanding and documenting this diversity is crucial for optimizing therapeutic applications. The review also highlights advances in cultivation techniques, such as submerged fermentation of the mycelium, and innovative analytical methodologies that have improved the precision of compound quantification and extraction. Although there is limited scientific information on P. cubensis due to nearly four decades of regulatory restrictions on psychedelic research, recent developments in genetic and biochemical studies are beginning to provide valuable insights into its therapeutic potential. Furthermore, this review emphasizes key knowledge gaps and offers insights into future research directions to advance the cultivation, scientific documentation of strain diversity, regulatory considerations and therapeutic use of P. cubensis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Research Trends on Medicinal Mushrooms, 2nd Edition)
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27 pages, 1184 KiB  
Review
Potential Medicinal Fungi from Freshwater Environments as Resources of Bioactive Compounds
by Ilenia Cicero, Giulia Mirabile and Giuseppe Venturella
J. Fungi 2025, 11(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11010054 - 10 Jan 2025
Viewed by 752
Abstract
Owing to their nutritional, culinary, and nutraceutical, mushrooms are worldwide consumed and appreciated. Moreover, many of these mushrooms are also known as medicinal mushrooms since they possess several pharmacological properties attributable to a huge number of bioactive compounds derived from their sporophores. Several [...] Read more.
Owing to their nutritional, culinary, and nutraceutical, mushrooms are worldwide consumed and appreciated. Moreover, many of these mushrooms are also known as medicinal mushrooms since they possess several pharmacological properties attributable to a huge number of bioactive compounds derived from their sporophores. Several studies are available in the literature about in vitro and in vivo mechanisms of actions of such bioactive compounds. Most of these surveys are focused on macrofungi belonging to the genera Pleurotus, Ganoderma, or specific taxa such as Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus blazei, Boletus eduliInonotus obliquus, Hericium erinaceus, Lentinula edodes, and Grifola frondose. On the other hand, there is a lack of information on the under investigated ecological group of freshwater fungi. These fungi play a very important role in freshwater environments and some of them, belonging to Basidiomycota, are also edible and largely consumed. In this review we collected information about the medicinal properties of freshwater macro- and micromycetes. Among them, macrofungi, such as Amanita vaginata, Armillaria mellea, Armillaria tabescens, Astraeus hygrometricus, Auricularia auricula-judae, Bjerkandera adusta, Bovista nigrescens, Calocybe gambosa, Candolleomyces candolleanus, Collybia dryophila, Coprinus comatus, Cyclocybe cylindracea, Hypsizygus ulmarius, Inonotus hispidus, Lactarius controversus, Lentinus tigrinus, and Schizophyllum commune, observed in riparian habitat, and microfungi, such as Penicillium aculeatum, P. chrysogenum, and Fusarium incarnatum, isolated from aquatic plants, have been reported to have antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, immunomoludatory, hypoglycaemic, and other pharmaceutical activities. Such fungal species are noteworthy since they represent an important quote of biodiversity to preserve their fundamental ecological role and a possible solution for different health problems for humans and animal farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Research Trends on Medicinal Mushrooms, 2nd Edition)
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