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Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development
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Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 3505

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ying Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: mushroom processing; polysaccharides; protein chemistry; functional food; multiomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiaobo Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: mushroom processing; polysaccharides; bioactivity; flavor products; functional food

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Edible mushrooms is the general term used for a class of large fungi that are available for human consumption and have medicinal value. The transformation and upgrading of mushrooms from primary to deep processing is an inevitable trend. The development of the deep mushroom processing industry has met people’s diverse demands and is of great significance for promoting the development of the agricultural economy. Edible mushrooms are favored by consumers because they are rich in various nutrients such as protein and polysaccharides, and have become another good raw material for functional food products. The edible mushroom processing industry needs to increase investment in research and development. It is of scientific importance to develop new products and processes for edible mushrooms. Research on the production of vegetarian meat using edible mushrooms as raw materials is an emerging and popular direction, which can not only provide sufficient protein but also offer other nutritional values, meeting people’s demands for health and meat products. Mushroom polysaccharides are reported to have antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and intestinal flora activities. Research on polysaccharides from mushrooms as functional foods has received extensive attention due to their wide range of sources, low price, and high safety. This Special Issue focuses on the evaluation of mushroom quality, the high-value processing technology of products, the active ingredients of mushrooms, and the development of health products with mushrooms.

Dr. Ying Liu
Dr. Xiaobo Dong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • edible mushrooms
  • processing technology
  • product development
  • quality analysis
  • nutritional components
  • active ingredients
  • efficacy evaluation
  • structure–activity relationship

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 1276 KB  
Article
Effects of Amaranth Seed- and Bambara Groundnut-Based Media on the Aroma-Active Volatile and Amino Acid Profiles of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Mycelia
by Kayise Hypercia Maseko, Margaux Lim Ah Tock, Alvaro Viljoen, Paul Bartels, Thierry Regnier and Belinda Meiring
Foods 2026, 15(9), 1584; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15091584 - 4 May 2026
Viewed by 217
Abstract
The growing demand for sustainable alternative proteins has intensified interest in fungal mycelia as a nutrient-dense biomass for food applications. This study compared Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies with mycelia grown in liquid state on amaranth seed- and Bambara groundnut-based media, evaluating aroma-active volatiles [...] Read more.
The growing demand for sustainable alternative proteins has intensified interest in fungal mycelia as a nutrient-dense biomass for food applications. This study compared Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies with mycelia grown in liquid state on amaranth seed- and Bambara groundnut-based media, evaluating aroma-active volatiles and amino acid composition. Across 52 identified volatiles, C8 oxylipin-derived compounds dominated all matrices, with exceptionally high odour activity values (OAVs) for 1-octen-3-one (~4.1 × 103), 3-octanone (~1.5 × 103), 1-octen-3-ol (~8.3 × 102) and 3-octanol (~5.3 × 102). Amaranth-grown mycelia showed intensified mushroom/green/fatty notes due to elevated C8 ketones and unsaturated aldehydes, whereas Bambara-grown mycelia exhibited reduced C8 prominence and stronger malty, nutty and fermented nuances driven by Ehrlich-pathway aldehydes (e.g., 3-methylbutanal ~2.0 × 103), with floral contributions from linalool (~3.8 × 102). Mycelial protein contents ranged from 35.8 to 36.1 g/100 g (amaranth) and up to 38.2 g/100 g (Bambara), compared with 39.5 g/100 g in the fruiting body. Amino acid scores (AAS) identified cystine + methionine as limiting; mycelia exhibited higher AAS, with more indispensable amino acids exceeding reference requirements. Elevated glutamic and aspartic acids underscore the umami potential of the mycelial biomass. Overall, these plant-based substrates can strategically modulate both flavour chemistry and amino acid balance in P. ostreatus mycelia, supporting their use as nutritionally relevant, flavour-active ingredients in alternative protein and hybrid food systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development)
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13 pages, 3933 KB  
Article
Preparation and Characterization of Double-Network Composite Hydrogels with Carboxymethyl Pachymaran in Promoting Wound Healing
by Haodong Wu, Xi Feng, Zhinan Mei, Wen Huang and Ying Liu
Foods 2026, 15(8), 1285; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15081285 - 8 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 453
Abstract
Utilizing food-derived bioactive polysaccharides in advanced biomedical applications offers significant potential. To effectively harness the inherent bioactivity of Poria cocos, a renowned edible and medicinal fungus, we developed a multifunctional double-network composite hydrogel (CPS) via a feasible one-pot strategy. This was achieved [...] Read more.
Utilizing food-derived bioactive polysaccharides in advanced biomedical applications offers significant potential. To effectively harness the inherent bioactivity of Poria cocos, a renowned edible and medicinal fungus, we developed a multifunctional double-network composite hydrogel (CPS) via a feasible one-pot strategy. This was achieved by incorporating functional carboxymethyl pachymaran (CMP) into a matrix of food-grade sodium alginate (SA) and polyacrylamide (PAM). This formulation endows the hydrogel with excellent extensibility, rapid self-healing capabilities, and strong tissue adhesion, all while preserving the biological activity of the natural macromolecules. In a mouse full-thickness skin defect model, the CPS significantly accelerated wound recovery, achieving a healing rate of 51.17 ± 4.87% by day 7. Mechanistically, the food-derived CMP synergistically promoted skin tissue regeneration by downregulating the expression of the early pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and upregulating the angiogenic marker CD31, thereby actively modulating the local microenvironment. Ultimately, these findings demonstrate the viability of using edible fungal polysaccharides as primary bioactive components in advanced wound dressings, providing a novel approach for utilizing food macromolecules in biomedicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development)
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29 pages, 5316 KB  
Article
Impact of Ginger Straw on Cultivation and Quality of Pleurotus geesteranus and Hericium erinaceus
by Yan Zhang, Yihui Wang, Qingji Wang, Zheng Li and Zhuang Li
Foods 2026, 15(5), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15050898 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 477
Abstract
Against the backdrop of China’s booming edible fungi industry, shortages and price hikes of traditional cultivation substrates have emerged as critical bottlenecks. Meanwhile, the disposal of a large amount of ginger straw produced during the ginger cultivation process is also a major challenge. [...] Read more.
Against the backdrop of China’s booming edible fungi industry, shortages and price hikes of traditional cultivation substrates have emerged as critical bottlenecks. Meanwhile, the disposal of a large amount of ginger straw produced during the ginger cultivation process is also a major challenge. To address these issues, this study explored ginger straw as an alternative substrate for Pleurotus geesteranus and Hericium erinaceus, focusing on the optimization of substrate formulas and their effects on the nutritional quality of the fungi. Superior strains were first screened, after which the addition ratios of ginger straw (10–40%) were optimized. Commercial characteristics, nutritional components, and safety indicators of the fruiting bodies were determined, and a comprehensive quality evaluation was conducted using the membership function method. Results indicated that excellent strains of both fungi were selected: the optimal ginger straw addition ratio was 15–30% for P. geesteranus and 15% for H. erinaceus. Compared with the conventional cottonseed hull substrate, the optimized formulas significantly increased the biological efficiency (BE) by 9.08–27.1% for P. geesteranus and 9.16% for H. erinaceus. They also improved the contents of key nutrients (e.g., proteins and amino acids), enhanced total antioxidant capacity, and optimized the composition of flavor-contributing amino acids. This study offers a novel approach for the efficient utilization of ginger straw, provides technical and theoretical support for the low-cost and high-quality cultivation of edible fungi, and contributes positively to the development of ecological circular agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development)
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16 pages, 3295 KB  
Article
Lipidomic Analysis and Assessment of Quality Changes of Phallus impudicus During Hot Air Drying
by Ling Sun, Zhen Zeng, Jie Wang, Yumei Tang, Fang Geng, Beibei Wang, Hong He and Jinqiu Wang
Foods 2026, 15(5), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15050812 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 463
Abstract
Hot air drying is widely used in edible mushroom processing, but often leads to quality changes, including browning and flavor changes. This study focused on Phallus impudicus (P. impudicus), combining dynamic monitoring of browning-related indicators with lipidomics technology to systematically investigate [...] Read more.
Hot air drying is widely used in edible mushroom processing, but often leads to quality changes, including browning and flavor changes. This study focused on Phallus impudicus (P. impudicus), combining dynamic monitoring of browning-related indicators with lipidomics technology to systematically investigate the mechanism by which lipid changes influence quality during hot air drying. The results showed that drying significantly altered lipid metabolism. Encompassing 28 subclasses, five major lipid categories were identified: glycerophospholipids (GP), glycolipids (GL), sphingolipids (SP), isoprenylglycolipids (PR), and fatty acids (FA). From among these, the total content of GP remained the highest and increased significantly after drying, whereas the contents of GL and FA decreased markedly. Hydrolysis of structural lipids led to the collapse of cellular structure, and the levels of hydrolyzed lipids phosphatidic acid (PA), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) increased significantly after drying, which may adversely affect long-term storage. Furthermore, increased lipid unsaturation intensified browning, and lipid oxidation also promoted the formation of volatile flavor compounds. Overall, this lipidomic research demonstrated that hot air drying determines the final quality and flavor profile of dried P. impudicus through coordinated mechanisms involving membrane lipid oxidation, structural membrane damage, browning, and flavor generation. These findings provided a new insight into the mechanism of quality changes and a theoretical basis for quality improvement and process regulation for dried edible mushroom products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development)
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20 pages, 1140 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Quality and Storage Characteristics of Freeze-Dried Powdered Mycelium Sausages According to Packaging Methods
by Yu-Na Oh and Hack-Youn Kim
Foods 2025, 14(23), 4080; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14234080 - 27 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1131
Abstract
With the increases in the global population, demand for meat, and income, plant-based meat alternatives using mushrooms, soybeans, and other ingredients are attracting increasing attention to address food security. Mushroom mycelia have a high moisture content and are prone to quality deterioration; therefore, [...] Read more.
With the increases in the global population, demand for meat, and income, plant-based meat alternatives using mushrooms, soybeans, and other ingredients are attracting increasing attention to address food security. Mushroom mycelia have a high moisture content and are prone to quality deterioration; therefore, interventions, such as freeze-drying and optimized packaging, are necessary to improve shelf life. Furthermore, controlling storage temperature is a key factor in preserving product quality. Therefore, in this study, Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom) mycelium sausage were stored under various packaging methods (aerobic packaging, vacuum packaging, and modified atmosphere packaging) and storage temperatures (0 and 4 °C). Quality and storability were evaluated at 0, 7, 15, 30, and 50 days using tests for proximate components, pH, storage loss, color, water activity (Aw), aerobic bacterial count, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) using an electronic nose and an electronic tongue. The vacuum-treated groups showed superior pH, CIE L*, CIE a*, Aw, TBARS, and VBN levels. At 0 °C, each treatment group exhibited significantly lower VBN levels on days 30 and 50 (p < 0.05). Overall, vacuum packaging and low storage temperatures are expected to be beneficial for maintaining the quality and storage characteristics of shiitake mushroom mycelium sausages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Mushroom Processing and Functional Food Development)
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