Growing Mushroom

Mushrooms are the exposed fleshy fruiting body of some natural fungi which are widely distributed with a wide range of shape, color and sizes. Mushrooms are low in fat and the fiber is starch-free. In China, more than 20 million people engage in the cultivation process and generate more than $20 billion per annum. Mushroom production is quite different from growing the other existing green plants; this is because it does not contain any chlorophyll and therefore depend on other plant material, the substrate, for food. Growing mushrooms requires a good knowledge and some skill but the benefits for the farmer far overshadow the efforts involved. The next step is to identify governmental agencies, corporate bodies and individuals that are interested both the marketing and the consumption both locally and internationally. This effort will also serve as a veritable support base system. Further step to take in that direction is drawing up of a processing plan from initial harvesting to general marketing.

Mushroom poisoning refers to the ingestion of toxic substances present in mushrooms. Mushroom can be poisonous due to the composition of their geographical location. Mycetism or mushroom poisoning refers to the toxic effects from eating mushrooms with bacteria or fungi. Even edible mushrooms can cause illnesses.

There are three categories of poisonous mushrooms. Mushrooms grow in different habitats. Observe your surroundings for unwanted mushrooms. Most mushroom related poisoning are with small children eating mushrooms found in the neighborhood. Some are allergic even to the safest mushroom. Eat only fresh mushrooms. Rotting mushrooms is harmful. Do not eat raw mushrooms and on large quantities. Most wild mushrooms are difficult to digest when eaten raw.

Avoid other mushrooms which look like amanita and false morels. Amanita has bright colored caps ornamented with scales. Toxic chemical monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) is present in false morels. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headaches. Try to find out signs on animals that have eaten mushrooms you are identifying. Identify names of poisonous mushrooms. The little brown mushrooms are small to medium sized brownish mushroom with spores of different colors. Lastly, be aware of the mushrooms toxins involved like Alpha-amanitin, Phallotoxin, Orellanine, Muscarine, Coprine, Arabitol, Ergotamine, etc.
Symptoms of the poisonous mushroom usually pass in 24 hours with no effects. Majority of the cases are due to mistaken identity of the many types of mushrooms.

Maitake also can be found thriving in northeastern Japan and parts of Europe. Also called dancing mushroom because of people dancing for joy when they found the maitake mushroom, one legend explains that the name refers to the fact that maitake overlaps other forms of fungi and has the appearance of butterfly wings flapping in a dance.

Before 1979 maitake could only be found in the wild. Beta D-glucan is the powerful polysaccharide that is found in maitake, a compound that helps to stimulate the immune response.

Studies have found that maitake mushroom has the ability to reduce blood pressure in laboratory experiments that took place on animals. Maitake may also be able to help lower blood cholesterol levels, which is a major factor in fighting and preventing heart disease. Demonstrating a hepato-protective effect, maitake works against toxins and potential liver damage. Each patient was give maitake extract, with the results showing that 72 percent recovered while only 57 percent of the group the used traditional therapy recovered. Read the rest of this entry »