Functional fungi: Spotlight on mushroom immunity and brain health benefits at Biofach

At the recent Biofach organic trade show, exhibitors highlighted medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, cordyceps, lion’s mane, and chaga. As mass-marketed products in China for their health benefits, these functional fungi are increasingly popular worldwide. On the show floor, Nutrition Insight caught up with mushroom suppliers Goodmoodfood, Biosan Biotechnology, and French Mush to examine mushrooms’ immunity, energy, and brain health benefits. 

Germany-based Goodmoodfood introduced its Vitalpilz Kakao mixes at Biofach. These mixes combine cocoa powder with “vital mushrooms” chaga, cordyceps, lion’s mane, and reishi. Consumers can mix this powder with plant milk or water to create drinking chocolate. 

Simon Ehinger, the company’s CEO, says the product offers a more convenient way to add these medicinal mushrooms into a daily diet to help boost the immune system. Moreover, combining these four mushrooms has additional health benefits. 

“What they all have in common is their extensive range of bioactive substances, especially polysaccharides and beta-glucans, which help support our immune system.” 

He says these four mushrooms are linked to various additional health benefits. For example, adaptogenic cordyceps can be anti-inflammatory and support respiratory and kidney function, and chaga mushrooms are rich in antioxidants. 

Meanwhile, lion’s mane supports brain health, while reishi has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years and is known as a “mushroom of immortality.” 

Mushroom health benefits

Xingli Wang, the CEO and founder of China-based Biosan Biotechnology, says mushrooms are getting increasingly popular. Her company specializes in mushroom cultivation, processing, and marketing, offering a range of powders, extracts, and finished products. 

Wang highlights reishi, lion’s mane, chaga, and cordyceps as “the most popular mushrooms.” She says these ingredients offer various health benefits, from immunity and energy to reducing brain fog. 

She details that reishi mushrooms can “increase immune function by boosting immune cell activities. They can also reduce stress, improve relaxation and sleep quality, and support heart health by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol.” 

We met up with Xingli Wang, CEO of Biosan Biotechnology, at the recent Biofach trade show.“Lion’s mane mushroom is very well known for cognitive enhancement and also good for its neuroprotective effects. Lots of research talks about lion’s mane. It can help stimulate nerve growth, essential for brain health, focus, mental clarity, and memory.”

In addition, Wang says that in China, lion’s mane is also promoted for digestive and gut health by reducing inflammation. 

Chaga is wild-collected from the forest and can support skin health and anti-aging, help fight infections, and help regulate blood sugar levels. 

She adds: “Cordyceps can stimulate your energy level and is good for athletic performance. It can also help support lung protection and oxygen absorption.” 

A mushroom revolution?

Start-up company French Mush presented its range of organic mushroom supplements at Biofach, based on shitake, chaga, cordyceps, lion’s mane, and reishi. The company’s CEO, Antoine Alibert, believes mushrooms can revolutionize the market, but only if there is more focus on product quality and transparency in the global market. 

He cautions that most mushrooms originate from China, where these ingredients are mass-market products, implying a “lower quality because people are looking for a very low price.” Moreover, he says there is an increasing lack of transparency in China. 

French Mush responds by producing everything in Europe, from cultivation to extraction, and pushing its competitors to be more transparent about their sourcing. 

The company also analyzes the active compounds of its extracts and has conducted its first successful double-blind, randomized clinical trial on lion’s mane’s effect on memory and focus two hours after consumption. 

Although mushrooms are increasingly popular, they are still new on the European market. “Even well-known laboratories consult us. Although they have a lot of experience with plants, they don’t know how to recognize a good mushroom and extract,” says Alibert. 

“For example, lion’s mane contains a molecule called erinacine, which independent labs don’t test for. We are working with a laboratory that has started to analyze this compound because of us, but before, no one had asked about it.” 

Simon Ehinger, CEO of Goodmoodfood, says the company’s VitalPilz mixes offer a convenient way to add mushrooms to the diet.Formulation for efficacy and taste

Biosan Biotechnology recently launched a continuous countercurrent extraction production line and a freeze-drying extraction line to improve the efficacy and quality of its products, such as enhanced solubility and higher retention of active compounds. 

Freeze-drying also helps maintain the natural flavor of raw materials, enhances product stability, and extends shelf life without preservatives. 

The company highlights that consumers are increasingly drawn to innovative blends instead of single-ingredient options as demand for mushrooms increases. These combine the benefits of multiple species in one product. 

Wang details: “For example, we can blend stress-reducing reishi mushrooms with cordyceps for energy, chaga for antioxidants, and lion’s mane to help memory.” 

Goodmoodfood developed several mixes that combine multiple mushrooms with cocoa for specific health benefits — a Calm Down & Relax version with reishi, lion’s mane, and ashwagandha and a Rise Up & Shine cocoa mix with cordyceps, chaga, and guarana. 

Ehinger says the company sources medicinal mushrooms from China and focuses on extracts with a higher concentration of polysaccharides and beta-glucans. 

In addition to products that benefit consumers’ health and well-being, he notes that people seek out taste. “It should be delicious, good for the soul, but also good for your body,” he says. “The combination of vital mushrooms and chocolate is just perfect.” 

Although sustainability aspects are still important, he says they are “more of a side effect” now. 

French Mush featured its lion’s mane supplement for cognitive function, immunity, and mood stability in Biofach’s Novelty stand.Legal challenges

Meanwhile, the experts highlight several legal challenges in Europe. For example, despite their prolonged use in Chinese markets and extensive studies, the EU has not authorized any legal health claims regarding mushrooms. 

Alibert from French Mush says that this is why the company is conducting clinical research. 

“We will launch a study in April on cordyceps regarding energy and physical performance,” he details. “We are also doing another one on lion’s mane because the one we did last year focused on a short-term effect, and we want to prove the effect on memory in the long term, looking at a six-month effect.” 

He maintains that mushrooms are backed by science: “This is the second most studied subject in natural supplements, after cannabis.” 

In addition, he points to specific regulations on cordyceps. Traditionally, this fungus is created by a spore that contaminates an insect and transforms it into a mushroom. French Mush uses a new cultivation method to develop the cordyceps without infecting an insect. 

Alibert says there are different varieties of the fungi, but not all are allowed in the EU. “Right now, we are using the mycelium of Cordyceps sinensis to be allowed to sell this product in Europe. This is the only part of the cordyceps mushroom that can be sold. We only use the fruiting body for the rest of the mushrooms.”