Pleurotus ostreatus

“side of the body” and “resembling oyster” 

I am apt to write about the polypores – the often overlooked wizened and ancient ‘conks’ of the forest –  that require more time to age, to collect, to process. I am stepping back and writing about the medicine of the familiar gilled Oyster Mushroom. They are as common in the forest as in the grocery store, and what better medicine to write about than medicine that is so accessible that the forest dwellers as well as the grocery store goers may benefit.

The fruiting Oysters will be found on hardwoods mostly – the Cottonwoods, Oaks and Alder – fruiting from their carnivorous mycelia in the spring. The carnivory is real – watch the mycelia digest a nematode in this video

Spore print

White

Known active constituents

Pleuran (polysaccharide), chrysin, ergothioneine, lovastatin, GABA

Nutritional information

Nutritional constituents estimated per 100 g dry weight include protein (29.3 g), carbohydrate (62.97 g), crude fat (0.91 g), ash (6.82 g) and crude fiber (12.3 g).

Energy value of this mushroom was about 297.5 kcal/100 g dry weight

Major mineral components estimated include Ca, Fe, and Mg with highest level of 505.0, 109.5 and 108.7 mg/100 g respectively.

Therapeutic actions

Immune modulating, antiatherogenic, neuroprotective, antioxidant, inflammation modulating

 Some laboratory findings

Antiatherogenic

There are many factors that aggregate and result in atherosclerosis. These include and are not limited to hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and lipid peroxidation. Oyster mushroom research has demonstrated protection against all of those factors. In an animal study, rats were administered chrysin-rich Pleurotus extract. After administration there was a significant decrease in mean blood serum levels of glucose, lipid profile parameters, and hepatic marker enzymes and a simultaneous increase in enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant parameters.²

 P. ostreatus is the richest known source of ergothioneine, containing 118.91mg/kg. As mentioned previously, ergothioneine protects against DNA damage and lipid oxidation. For hypertension, Oyster mushroom water extract inhibits angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) – a common mechanism in hypertensive medication.

Oyster mushroom also contains lovastatin, a naturally occurring statin compound that reduces LDL cholesterol through inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase.

Some human findings

Atopic dermatitis

In a split-body study of 80 patients, topical P. ostreatus-based β-glucan cream application resulted in improvement of both subjective and objective symptoms of atopic dermatitis. The patients applied the cream on one segment of the body with atopic dermatitis and no treatment on another atopic dermatitis segment. On the application site there was a significant decrease in the number of days and severity of atopic dermatitis. ⁴

You can make your own Oyster mushroom cream by following my mushroom cream recipe here. The aqueous part of the cream will be an Oyster mushroom decoction.

Respiratory Disease

Pleuran extract from Oyster mushrooms has clinical evidence for application with various respiratory diseases. In a human study, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients treated with 100mg Pleuran, 60mg vitamin C, and 5mg Zinc, had significantly lower incidence and shorter duration of exacerbations compared to the control (60mg vitamin C and 5mg Zinc).⁵

In another double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized multicentric study, 175 children were treated with either pleuran or placebo over a 12-month period. Children treated with pleuran experienced a significant reduction in the frequency of recurrent respiratory tract infections. ^1,6 These findings agreed with a Spanish study investigating 166 children aged one to ten years old who were also treated with Pleuran for recurrent respiratory infection.⁷

Advantageous respiratory effects of pleuran were also observed in adult athletes. A study included 50 athletes treated with pleuran over a three month period of time and found a significant reduction in the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections as compared to athletes treated with placebo. Blood samples of the athletes showed significantly higher levels of circulating NK cells in the pleuran group as compared to the placebo group.⁸

Antihyperlipidemic

20 subjects were randomized to take either one portion of soup containing 30g dried oyster mushrooms or a tomato soup (placebo) on a daily basis for 21 days. Standardized blood concentrations of lipid parameters and oxidized LDLs were measured at baseline and after 21 days. Treatment with Oyster mushroom soup decreased both triacylglycerol and oxidized low density lipoprotein levels significantly, and showed a significant tendency towards lowering total cholesterol values. ⁹

Pleurotus ostreatus Syrup Recipe

for upper respiratory support

Ingredients

30g dried Oyster mushrooms, chopped

120mL raw honey

130mL Water (up to 300mL if not using pressure cooker)

Kitchen Tools Needed

Boiling pot or Pressure cooker (Instant pot)

Cheese cloth

Potato ricer

Bowl

Directions

Pressure cooker: pressure cook dried mushrooms with 130mL water for 45 minutes

Boiling pot: boil for 1.5 hours, strain mushroom from decoction, dispose of mushrooms, put aqueous extract back on heat and reduce liquid down to 120mL

Once you have 120mL of mushroom aqueous extract, stir in 120mL of raw honey

Store in jar and refrigerate

Final product should be 240mL 1:8 (1gram of mushroom in 8mL liquid)

1g mushroom =  about .5g Pleuran

Some math:

Pleurotus ostreatus is about 50% Polysaccharide, and the best way to extract these polysaccharides is through a boiling process. We have 30g of dried Pleurotus ostreatus and for a child who weighs 27kg, we would dose them with 270mg Pleuran, and so about 540mg dried oyster mushroom, or .5g. We want there to be .5g in 1 tsp (4mL) of extract. Since we will add 1part honey to 1part mushroom decoction, we will want the decoction to be a 1:4 and the final product to be a 1:8.

Pediatric Dose: 4mL (~.25g Pleuran)

Work Cited

1. Jesenak M, Hrubisko M, Majtan J, Rennerova Z, Banovcin P. Anti-allergic Effect of Pleuran ( b -glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus ) in Children with Recurrent Respiratory Tract Infections. 2014;474(March 2013):471-474.
2. Anandhi R, Annadurai T, Anitha TS, Muralidharan AR, Najmunnisha K, Nachiappan V, Thomas PA, Geraldine P. Antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidative effects of an extract of the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, and its major constituent, chrysin, in Triton WR-1339-induced hypercholesterolemic rats. J Physiol Biochem. 2013 Jun;69(2):313-23. doi: 10.1007/s13105-012-0215-6. Epub 2012 Oct 27. PubMed PMID: 23104078.
3. Hamdi M, Abidin Z, Abdullah N, et al. Therapeutic properties of Pleurotus species ( oyster mushrooms ) for atherosclerosis : A review Therapeutic properties of Pleurotus species ( oyster mushrooms ). Int J Food Prop. 2017;20(6):1251-1261. doi:10.1080/10942912.2016.1210162.
4. Jesenak M, Urbancek S, Majtan J, Banovcin P, Hercogova J. b -Glucan-based cream ( containing pleuran isolated from pleurotus ostreatus ) in supportive treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. 2016;6634(4):351-354. doi:10.3109/09546634.2015.1117565.
5. Minov J, Bislimovska-karadzhinska J, Petrova T, Vasilevska K, Stoleski S. Effects of Pleuran ( Β – Glucan from Pleurotus Ostreatus ) Supplementation on Incidence and Duration of COPD Exacerbations. 2017;5(7):893-898.
6. Jesenak M, Urbanclkova I, Banovcin P. Respiratory Tract Infections and the Role of Biologically Active Polysaccharides in Their. Nutrients. 2017:1-12. doi:10.3390/nu9070779.
7. Pico Sirvent L, Sapena Grau J, Morera Ingles M, Rivero Urgell M. Effect of supplementation with β–glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus in children with recurrent respiratory infections. Ann Nurr Metab. 2013; 63 (1): 1378.
8. Bergendiova K, Tibenska E. Pleuran ( b -glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus ) supplementation , cellular immune response and respiratory tract infections in athletes. 2011:2033-2040. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-1837-z.
9. Schneider, I.; Kressel, G.; Meyer, A.; Krings, U.; Berger, R.G.; Hahn, A. Lipid Lowering Effects of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Ostreatus) in Humans. Journal of Functional Foods 2011, 3(1), 17–24. DOI:http://Dx. Doi.Org/10.1016/J.Jff.2010.11.004