Lentinula edodes, commonly known as shiitake, is an edible mushroom native to East Asia that is cultivated for food and medicine. It grows naturally on decaying hardwood logs but is now widely cultivated commercially. Shiitake contains compounds such as lentinan and mannoglucan that have anti-tumor, antiviral, and immunomodulating pharmacological effects and are being researched for potential health benefits. The mushroom is identified by its brown cap that develops from round to flat, white gills on the hymenium, and fibrous stem.

1. Lentinula edodes (Shiitake)
Presented by:- Shailendra shah
Department of pharmaceutical
Science
Nobel college, Pokhara University
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2. INTRODUCTION
The shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is an edible mushroom native to East
Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries.
It is commonly known as “shiitake”. The name Shiitake derives from the
Japanese Shii, which means oak and take which means mushroom.
It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional
medicine.
Other common names are golden oak mushroom, black forest mushroom,
Chinese black mushroom and in Nepali it is known as mirge chyau.
It has been used as food and also for medicinal use.The earliest reports of
shiitake cultivation in china date back at least 1000 years.
This edible mushroom is currently the second most produced mushroom in
the world, after Agaricus bisporus.
.
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3. Nomenclature
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Marasmiaceae
Genus: Lentinula
Species: edodes
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4. Biological sources
Mycelium extracts contain polysaccharides (alpha-/beta-homo- and
heteroglycans), proteins, nucleic acids, trace minerals, vitamins and
provitamins, polyphenolic compounds, and other secondary plant
metabolites.
Mycelium extract of lentinula edodes collect at the time when cap
and stem are yet immature and arecalled as lentinen edodes
mycelium (LEM) is used in commercial medicine.
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5. Habitat
Lentinula edodes is native to various
countries in East Asia. Most commonly they
are found in Japan and China.
They grow best in cool, dry to moist (but not
wet), and dark conditions.
Shiitake likes the cold, this is expressed by
slowly developing and growing, though
beautiful fruit bodies of the donko-type: dark-
brown, nicely scaled, heavy and short-
stemmed.
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6. Habitat (contd..)
In warmer growing circumstances the flesh becomes thinner and the
colour lighter.
Temperature strongly affects two different aspects of the mushroom's life
mycelia growth and the fruiting body growth.
Mycelia growth is strongest between 41º and 90º F (5-32ºC), while the
fruiting body grows best in temperatures between 50º and 68ºF (10-20º C).
The fruiting body also requires more humidity and light than the mycelia
does.Saprophytic fungus grow in wild and dead or drying wood of broad
leavedtrees, especially oak and beech trees.
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7. Cultivation and collection
Shiitake has been cultivated on wooden logs in open in the mountainous region in
Asia for over a 1000 years.
Commercially, shiitake mushrooms are typically grown in conditions similar to their
natural environment on either artificial substrate or hardwood logs, such as oak.
The Japanese cultivated the mushroom by cutting shii trees with axes and placing
the logs by trees that were already growing shiitake or contained shiitake spores.
The shiitake begins life as a mycelium that burrows through the dead tissue of
various hardwoods such as beech, chestnut or oak.
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8. Cultivation and collection(contd..)
As the mycelia grow, they gradually convert the component macromolecules of the
wood into fungal tissue until the available nutrients have been sufficiently depleted.
Cultivation method takes about 6 month to 1year.
It has been one of the most popular edible fungus and due to its high demands,
techniques for a quicker cultivation.
Shiitake are now widely cultivated all over the world, and contribute about 25% of
total yearly production of mushrooms.
China is an enormous consumer and producer of Shiitake.
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9. Macroscopical characters
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) has
gills on hymenium.
Hymenium is free.
Cap of Lentinula edodes ranges from 5-
25cm wide and grows from a round
bulb into half bulb and into flat cap in
the adult stage.
In the beginning the cap is almost black
but as the cap grows the colour changes
to light brown.
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10. Macroscopical characters(Contd..)
The rim of cap is whitish at first. The flesh of the cap is whitish to brown.
The steem has a fibrous structure can be positioned either centrally or
offset to the side.
Microscopial characteristics:-
 The genome of Lentinula edodes is approximately 33
Mb,organized in 8 chromosomes.
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11. Chemical constituents(Active Compounds)
Some of shiitake’s active important compounds
include:-
 Lentinan (antitumor, antiviral, hepatoprotective)
 Mannoglucan (immunomodulation)
 Lentinamicin (antimicrobial)
 Lenthionine, ethylacetate and chloroform extracts
(antibacterial)
 Lentin (antifungal)
 Lentysine, lentinacin, eritadenine (hypolipidemic and
cardiovascular)
 Lectin (hemaglutinating)
 Water extracts and methanol (antioxidant)
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12. Lentinan:-
Molecular Formula: C42H72O36
Molecular Weight: 1153.002 g/mol
Lentinan, one major polysaccharide
compound, belongs to the beta-
glucan12s which is the key component
having anticancer effect.
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13. Chemical structure of Lentinan
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14.  Pharmacological action
Supercritical fluid extracts of lentinula edodes had antimicrobial
activites against micrococcus luteus and bacillus cereus.
The ethanol, aqueous and polysaccharides from lentinula edodes act
on the initial processes of the replication of strains of polio virus and
bovine herpes virus.
There is some evidence from a meta-analysis that lentinan in addition
to chemotherapy could prolong survival in patients with stomach
cancer.
Lentinan is thought to exhibit indirect anticancer effects by activating
innate immune effector cells.
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15.  Pharmacological action(contd..)
Although an injectable form of lentinan is used in some countries as an
adjuvant to cancer chemotherapy, definative data on shiitake’s efficacy as
an oral anticancer agent are lacking.
Research using animal models has shown that AHCC may increase the
body's resistance to pathogens as shown in experiments with the influenza
virus, West Nile encephalitis virus, and bacterial infection.
Animal research and limited clinical trials suggest that AHCC may
enhance immune function.
Lentin, the protein component of shiitake, exerts antifungal properties,
inhibits proliferation of leukemic cells, and suppresses the activity of HIV-1
reverse transcriptase
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16.  Pharmacopoeal standards
The stems have the highest amount of fibre (14.35–21.77%) and the lowest amount
of protein (10.21– 13.64%). The caps contain the highest ash content (4.11–5.15%).
 Commercial values:-
Manganese peroxidases isolated from L. edodes neutralize environmentally
persistent pesticide contaminants such as chlorophenols and dioxins.
Commercial preparations are available as preserved whole fruiting bodies or extracts
of fruiting bodies or mycelia.
The commercial value of fresh shiitake mushroom is about US $3.3-3.7 / Kilogram.
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17. References
Pegler D. "The classification of the genus Lentinus Fr.
(Basidiomycota)". Kavaka (1975) 3: 11–20.
Vane CH; Drage TC Snape CE. (2003). "Biodegradation of oak
(Quercus alba) wood during growth of the Shiitake mushroom
(Lentinula edodes): A molecular approach". Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry. 51 (4): 947–956
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