Food as medicine. oyster mushroom. pleurotus ostreatus. anatomy of oyster mushroom. nutritional composition. bioactive compounds.medicinal properties. immuno-modulatory. antioxidant. anti-inflammatory. anti-microbial. anti-cancer. umami flavor. clinical studies

1. FOOD AS MEDICINE:
OYSTER MUSHROOM
PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS
By
Kevin KF Ng, MD. PhD
Former Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Clinical Pharmacology
University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
Email: kevinng68@gmail.com
A slide presentation for HealthCare Provider Symposium Oct 2018

2. Outline of lecture
▪ History of Oyster mushroom as food, scientific
classification, anatomy, life cycle.
▪ Composition of oyster mushroom.
▪ Medicinal properties of oyster mushroom.
▪ Clinical studies of oyster mushroom: blood pressure,
diabetes, cholesterol, cancer and immunomodulation.
▪ Summary.

3. “Food as Medicine” publications in PubMed from
1892 to 2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Food as Medicine

4. “Food as Medicine” and “Oyster mushroom” publications in PubMed
from 1900 to 2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Food as Medicine Oyster mushroom

5. What is oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)?
• “Pleurotus” is a Latin word for sideway growth.
• “ostreatus” is a Latin word for oyster.
• Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom, is a common
edible mushroom.
• It was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure
during World War I.
• It is now grown commercially around the world for food.
• It is related to the similarly cultivated king oyster mushroom.

6. Scientific classification of Oyster mushroom
(Pleurotus ostreatus)
https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products/plug-spawn-elm-oyster-mushrooms?variant=40546026952

7. Anatomy of a mushroom
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/227431849908632708/?lp=true Image is from: How to Grow Mushroom at Home by Randall Frank

8. Schematic representation of mushroom phases of
growth and fungal cell wall composition
Source: M. Puri (ed.), Food Bioactives, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51639-4_2

9. The mushroom life cycle
Image is from: The Essential Guide to Cultivating Mushrooms by Stephen Russell

10. Nutrients in Oyster Mushroom

11. Nutrient composition of oyster mushroom, raw
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/11987
macronutrients micronutrients

12. Nutrient composition of oyster mushroom, raw
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/11987

13. Nutrient composition of oyster mushroom, raw
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/11987

14. Nutrient composition of oyster mushroom, raw
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/11987

15. Nutrient composition of oyster mushroom, raw
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/11987

16. Bioactive compounds in Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/fhort.ahead-of-print/fhort-2018-0012/fhort-2018-0012.xml

17. Levels of phenolic compounds in P. ostreatus mycelium
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314664059

18. Medicinal properties of Bioactive compounds in
Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
Adapted from DOI: 10.2478/fhort-2018-0012

19. Schematic illustration of the mechanism of
immune activation by b-glucan from mushrooms
M. Puri (ed.), Food Bioactives, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-51639-4_2

20. Addition of Pleurotus polysaccharide extract to a high fat diet in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats improved blood
parameters and reduced hepatic lipid peroxidation and increased hepatic superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase
activity and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)-α expression. animal
http://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/5/4/80/htm
animal

21. Effect of Oyster mushroom on Type 2 Diabetic Patients
A double blind study on 120 patients for 3 months
Group 1 n=40 biscuit
Group 2 n=40 biscuit + mushroom
Group 3 n=40 mushroom
Adapted from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215553812
human

22. Oyster mushroom reduced blood glucose and lipids in
diabetic subjects (n=30)
mushroom mushroom
mushroom mushroom
Adapted from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6461687
mushroom mushroom
human

23. Effects of Pleurotus ostreatus on Blood Pressure and Glycemic Status
of 27 Hypertensive Diabetic Male Volunteers (2013)
Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2013; 6(1): 5-10
Blood Pressure
human

24. Effects of Pleurotus ostreatus on Blood Pressure and Glycemic Status
of 27 Hypertensive Diabetic Male Volunteers (2013)
Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2013; 6(1): 5-10
Blood Pressure
human
HbA₁C

25. Flavor: equivalent umami concentration in mushrooms
(EUC)
Adapted from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240299750_The_Umami_Taste_of_Edible_and_Medicinal_Mushrooms

26. Medicinal properties
▪ Anti-microbial and cytotoxic
▪ Anti-inflammatory
▪ Anti-hyperglycemic
▪ Anti-hyperlipidemia (lovastatin)
▪ Anti-hypertensive

27. Anti-inflammatory activity of edible oyster mushroom is mediated
through the inhibition of NF-κB and AP-1 signaling
in RAW264.7 macrophagess
OMC (1000 mg/kg) and LPS (0.1 mg/kg)
In vitro
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120742/

28. Effect of Pleuran (Ᏸ-glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus) in children with recurrent
respiratory tract infections-open label prospective study (2017)
n=191 (aged 3.8  7.0) October - March
http://www.currentpediatrics.com/articles/preventive-effect-of-pleuran-glucan-from-pleurotus-ostreatus-in-children-
with-recurrent-respiratory-tract-infections--openlabelpro.html
human

29. Enhancement of the Th1-phenotype immune system by the intake of
Oyster mushroom (Tamogitake) extract in a
double-blind, placebo-controlled study (2015)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411015001169?via%3Dihub
human

30. Enhancement of the Th1-phenotype immune system by the intake of
Oyster mushroom (Tamogitake) extract in a
double-blind, placebo-controlled study (2015)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411015001169?via%3Dihub
human

31. Effects of edible mushrooms on the proliferation of
breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer cells (HT-7) : 2015
C, Control;
AB, Agaricus bisporous;
LE, Lentinus edodes;
FV, Flammulina velutipes
PO, Pleurotus ostreatus.
breast cancer (MCF-7) colon cancer cells (HT-7).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796484/
In vitro

32. P. ostreatus significantly inhibits proliferation of human
breast cancer cells MCF-7 and colon cancer cells HT-29
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796484/
In vitro

33. Cytotoxic effect of oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus on
human androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells. (2006)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16822205
In vitro
In vitro

34. Cytotoxic effect of oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus on
human androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells. (2006)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16822205
In vitro
apotosis = programmed cell death
POE = P. Ostreatus Extract

35. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) of
oyster mushroom on cancer in human
▪ A randomized controlled trial is a type of
scientific experiment which aims to reduce
bias when testing oyster mushroom.
▪ The people participating in the trial are
randomly allocated to either the group
receiving oyster mushroom or to a group
receiving standard treatment as the control.
▪ No such study has been done on human with
oyster mushroom.
oyster mushroom
RCT

36. Some delicious oyster mushroom cuisine
OYSTER MUSHROOMS
GARLIC, AND
GREEN ONIONS SAUTE
Stir fry Grilled Oyster MushroomsOyster Mushroom Gravy
Roasted oyster mushroom
& watercrest
BREADED OYSTER MUSHROOMS

37. Summary
▪ Pleurotus ostreatus is a latin name for edible oyster mushroom.
▪ Oyster mushroom has nutritional and medicinal properties.
▪ As a food, it is low in calories and fat but high in amino acids,
vitamins and minerals.
▪ As a medicine, it has immunostimulant, anti-microbial, antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
▪ It lowers blood pressure, glucose, HbA₁C, cholesterol and triglyceride.
▪ It has an umami flavor which is well sought after in culinary arts.

38. ANY QUESTIONS ?
Please contact
Kevin KF Ng, MD, PhD
Email: kevinng68@gmail.com