For hundreds of years, mushroom cultivators in China have been producing some of the most potent functional mushrooms worldwide. Traditional Chinese medicine has guided this development for over 2000 years, with techniques being refined to such an extent that cultivated mushrooms are now extremely similar to their wildcrafted predecessors. Our Agaricus blazei mushrooms are sourced directly from the globally-recognised mushroom-growing region of Gutian County in Fujian. Our farming partner places a high value on natural, traditional cultivation methods which do not include the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. The mushrooms are selectively harvested by hand between July and October, at their peak nutritional value.
Mushrooms are composed of the fruiting body, which typically appears above ground, and the mycelium underneath. The most important compounds in functional mushrooms are concentrated within the fruiting body, but due to mycelia being faster and easier to cultivate, products derived from the mycelium are common despite being of lesser value. Our mushroom powders and extracts are exclusively made from the entire fruiting body (including the stalk), preserving the valuable compounds in each mushroom.
Among the most valuable components of the vital mushrooms are the mushroom polysaccharides, especially the beta-1,3- and beta-1,6-D-glucans. Our mushroom extracts bundle these substances into a rich concentrate. They are extracted with the traditional method using only water, the purest and gentlest extraction process. As a result, they do not contain any residues of chemical solvents (such as acetone, N-hexane, methanol).
In contrast to extracts, which can lose some of their nutritional value during processing, powders contain the full spectrum of nutrients and enzymes for a particularly strong adaptogenic effect. To ensure that the nutrients of the mushroom are optimally available to the body, we finely mill the dried mushrooms to a size of less than 0.1mm, according to the "shell-broken" method. This milling process breaks open the difficult-to-digest cells of the mushroom and makes their contents directly bioavailable.
The combination of mushroom powder and extract creates a rich overall combination of the full spectrum of all nutrients, with a high concentration of the valuable beta-glucans.
