Mushroom extraction is a process that breaks down the cell walls of the mushroom using either hot water, alcohol, or both depending on the type of mushroom. Doing this extra step “extracts” the beneficial compounds and makes them bioavailable— in a form your body can use. We use the highest standards of extraction for our medicinal mushroom powder extracts.
For the mushrooms that require dual extractions like Reishi, Chaga and Turkey Tail: The first extraction of the whole dried fruit bodies is dried and macerated to crack the cell wall and pass a 20-micron filter. The cell wall is made of indigestible chitin, so we need to break it open. Then we boil in water ten different times to pass the mushroom through a 200-micron filter. This hot water extraction process helps release the Beta-glucans and a number of other polysaccharides.
In the second extraction, we soak the material in food-grade organic ethanol four times for 30 minutes each time. The alcohol extraction releases the other non-water-soluble active compounds such as triterpenes, in the case of Reishi and in the case of Chaga: sterols like inotodiol, trametenolic acid and betulinic acid. The material is then heated to evaporate the ethanol and sterilized. The now double extracted liquid is sprayed dried with no additives (no maltodextrin is used) and settles into the fine powder we use.
Every Batch is third-party laboratory tested and contains at least 15-30% beta-glucans. They are also tested before and after production for heavy metals, microbes (bacteria, etc.) and consistency.
Other leading brands measure only the polysaccharides, including the alpha glucans—an inert polysaccharide chain found in myceliated grain extracts in the form of starch. So when you see a high polysaccharide content listed (40%-60%), much of that can be starch.
The consumer needs to know the beta-glucan content to decide which medicinal mushroom supplement to use.
The ratio of functional compounds in our organic mushroom extracts vs. the whole dried fruit bodies they are made from is between 6x and 10x (6:1-10:1), depending on the mushroom species and its compounds. Many non-extracted mushroom powders are indigestible, leaving the functional compounds locked in the chitin shell of the cell wall. Some companies sell these non-soluble fruit body “mushroom powders” for the same price that we sell highly concentrated organic mushroom concentrates.
Our concentrated powder blends are water-soluble, highly bioavailable and easy to mix into any warm beverage. Many even say tasty!
