Edible and medicinal fungi, or mushrooms, are among the most common sources of health foods and nutraceutical products.

Grifola frondosa (G. frondosa) is an edible mushroom with both nutritional and medicinal properties, generally known as maitake or hen-of-the-woods in Japanese and huī-shù-huā in Chinese (the mature fruiting bodies of G. frondosa are shown in the figure below).

The fungal biomass of G. frondosa displays a high content of proteins and carbohydrates and a relatively low content of fat compared with other commonly cultivated mushrooms. The crude water extracts, isolated fractions, and purified components have shown a number of bioactivities, including antitumor, immunomodulatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antidiabetic, lipid metabolism regulation, hypertension control, and antioxidation. Some of these health effects may be associated with the regulation of the human gut microbiota. Polysaccharides, which represent the most significant bioactive components of G. frondosa, contribute to many of its bioactivities and health benefits.

Nowadays, the MD-fraction and SX-fraction have been developed into several patent health care products and pharmaceuticals for cancer and diabetes mellitus, respectively. Indeed, because many other fractions of G. frondosa polysaccharides have a coreglucan structure as an MD-fraction for their inherent bioactivities, they can undoubtedly be used as functional foods by cancer patients as well. Additionally, considering the fact that plenty of carcinogenic foods exist in our today’s daily diet, it is encouraging that G. frondosa polysaccharides are effective in reducing cancer occurrence risks. Likewise, the immune-modulating action of G. frondosa polysaccharides is especially valuable as a mild and non-invasive form of treatment, prevention of metastatic tumors, and as a cotreatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as commonly used anti-cancer drugs.

He, X., Wang, X., Fang, J., Chang, Y. U., Ning, N., Guo, H., … & Zhao, Z. (2017). Polysaccharides in Grifola frondosa mushroom and their health promoting properties: A review. International journal of biological macromolecules, 101, 910-921. [Link]
Wu, J. Y., Siu, K. C., & Geng, P. (2021). Bioactive ingredients and medicinal values of Grifola frondosa (Maitake). Foods, 10(1), 95. [Link]