A Review: Edible Mushrooms as Source of Dietary Fiber and its Health Effects

Abstract

Dietary fibers are high molecular weight materials which are resistant to digestion and absorption in human beings but it can move along with food through the digestive system absorbing water. Chemically, dietary fiber consists of plant components such as cellulose, lignin, waxes, chitins, pectins and β-glucans. Edible mushroom is considered as a novel source of dietary fiber. Mushroom contains dietary fibers belonging to β-glucans, chitin and hetero polysaccharides as much as 10–15 % in the dried matter. The dietary fiber content and composition in edible mushroom vary greatly with its morphological stages including fruit body, mycelium and sclerotium. Sources of dietary fiber are usually divided into categories of “insoluble” and “soluble”. Insoluble refers to lack of solubility in water, with attracting properties that help to increase bulk, soften stools and shorten transit time through the intestinal tract. Soluble fiber undergoes active metabolic processing via fermentation that yields end products with broad, significant health effects. Dietary fibers compose the major component of products with low energy value that have had an increasing importance in recent years. It components organize functions of large intestine and have important physiological effects on glucose, lipid metabolism and mineral bioavailability. It shows the protective effect against gastrointestinal diseases, constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, rectum cancer, ulcer, diverticulitis, obesity, diabetes, stroke, blood cholesterol, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The present review analyses the different sources of dietary fiber from edible mushrooms and their important implications on human health.