Praktické lekárnictvo 3/2016

Active substances in medicinal mushrooms

Mushrooms are always been used not only in food preparation but also for the treatment of various diseases. Several of them are cultivated only for medicinal effects in Asian countries. The best known and most important pharmacologically active substances in medicinal mushrooms are polysaccharides, statins (mainly lovastatin), sterols, triterpenes and others.

Keywords: polysaccharides, lovastatin, ergosterol, triterpenes