In Hungary, Bio-Fungi Ltd. is conducting research on the production of vitamin D from mushrooms in collaboration with the departments of Corvinus University, with very promising results. The aim of the research is to develop a mushroom cultivation technology that will increase the vitamin D levels of the mushrooms produced many times over.
The resulting mushrooms and the semi-finished and finished products made from them are unique. They can be a key player in the food market for health preservation. The project aims to develop mushroom products with high, biologically active vitamin D content. Many cultivated mushrooms have been shown in the literature to be able to synthesise vitamin D2 from large amounts of ergosterol, which is naturally present in high amounts in the fungal cell wall, in response to UV light of a specific wavelength and energy, in quantities 3-5 times higher.
The trials started in 2008 and we hope to have successful new fresh market mushroom products with high vitamin D content on the tables of Hungarian consumers by 2010.
New functional product
If cultivated, the edible mushrooms developed by Bio-Fungi for the synthesis of vitamin D could be introduced to the market as a new functional product with high added value, expanding the range of products. The horticultural product, grown using the new cultivation technology, can be sold on the fresh market as a tasty mushroom and can also be used as a raw material for nutritional supplements with medicinal properties, processed in various degrees. However, the gastronomic value of edible mushrooms, which contain high concentrations of natural, biologically active vitamin D, is significantly outweighed by their medicinal value.
Campaigns recommending avoidance of sunlight may have underestimated the sunlight-dependent biological processes that appear to protect against cancer. Intense research over the last 15 years indicates that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in the development of various cancers and vice versa: vitamin D protects against cancer and slows down the development of tumours in cancer patients.
It is therefore essential to consume this vitamin either artificially, in the form of tablets or multivitamins, or in its natural form as food. As vitamin D2 is found in only a small segment of foods, it may be necessary to produce foods rich in vitamin D. It is also necessary to choose foods that can be included in the diets of both conventional diets and vegetarians. This is why we have chosen to fortify various cultivated mushrooms with vitamin D, since mushrooms are a very healthy and important food in themselves and are also popular with vegetarians.
New, revolutionary technology
The project will lead to a technology that can be used to consume cultivated mushroom products with high vitamin D content. The different types of mushrooms will be treated with UV light using a method and device developed at different stages of the cultivation process. Preliminary studies have shown that mushrooms can be induced to synthesise 8-10 µg/100g of vitamin D, exceeding the levels of meat and approaching those of fish. This new innovative product has been successfully used in welfare societies and in Nordic countries for health promotion, natural food supplementation and, last but not least, in the fight against cancer.
