Wissenschaftliche Beiträge

Neu! 

 

Wer Pilze isst lebt länger

Belegt am Beispiel des Vitamin D

 

Wer meine einschlägigen Publikationen und/oder Vorträge kennt, weiß, dass ich jede Gelegenheit ausnutze, um für Pilze als gesunde Nahrung zu werben. Dies könnte kaum eindrucksvoller geschehen als am Beispiel des Vitamin D. Eigentlich ist das Vitamin D gar kein Vitamin, da es – im Gegensatz zu anderen Vitaminen – der menschliche Körper selbst herstellen kann. Es wird eher zu den Hormonen, zu den Botenstoffen, körpereigenen Informationsübermittlern, gerechnet. Aber im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch gilt es als Vitamin.

 

Die Gruppe der D Vitamine erstreckt sich von D1 bis D5. Am wichtigsten sind jedoch D2 und D3. Das Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol) ist pflanzlichen Ursprungs und entsteht aus Ergosterin durch Lichteinwirkung. Das Ergosterin gehört zu der Gruppe der Sterine, einer wichtigen Naturstoffgruppe, zu der auch das Cholesterin zählt. Die andere, im menschlichen Körper aktive Form, ist das Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), das ebenfalls durch Lichteinwirkung aus Cholesterin, genauer gesagt aus 7-dehydrocholesterol, gebildet wird. Da die Wirkung des Ergo- und Cholecalciferols im menschlichen Organismus identisch ist, können wir sie zusammen besprechen und vereinfacht als Vitamin D bezeichnen.

 

Seit mehr als 80 Jahren ist bekannt, dass Vitamin D entscheidenden Einfluss auf den Kalzium und Knochenstoffwechsel hat. Seine antirachitische Wirkung ist Allgemeingut. Neuerdings jedoch nimmt die Forschung das Vitamin D erneut unter die Lupe und fördert dabei neue, bemerkenswerte bis sensationelle Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich seiner Wirkung zutage. Es stellte sich heraus, dass Vitamin D außer dem Kalzium und Knochenstoffwechsel an vielen anderen physiologischen Prozessen des Körpers beteiligt ist. Besonders hervorzuheben sind von denen der Einfluss auf das Immunsystem, auf die Zellteilung und das Zellwachstum.

 

Kanadische Wissenschaftler stellten fest, dass Brustkrebspatienten, die an Vitamin D-Mangel leiden in dreifach größerer Häufigkeit Metastasen bekamen und sie hatten ein um 73 % größeres Risiko, binnen 10 Jahren nach ihrer Erkrankung zu sterben. Es stellte sich ferner heraus, dass bei unzureichender Vitamin D Versorgung die Entstehung chronischer Krankheiten wie Multiple Sklerose, Diabetes Typ-2, Bluthochdruck, Herzinsuffizienz und auch Krebs begünstigt werden. Wissenschaftler an der Universität von Oxford (England) und British Columbien (Kanada) fanden, dass an Multiple Sklerose erkrankten Manschen ein Vitamin D Defizit hatten. Nach ihrer Auffassung ist Vitamin D, bzw. deren Mangel der wichtige Umweltfaktor in der Entstehung dieser Krankheit. Andere Forscher fanden heraus, dass eine ausreichende Vitamin D-Versorgung unter anderen die Bildung und Vermehrung von Prostatazellen hemmt. In einer einschlägigen Studie gelang es, nach Verabreichung von täglich 50 Mikrogramm (µg) Vitamin D3 an Personen mit Prostatakrebs, die Verdoppelung deren PSA-Werte während einer zweijährigen Behandlungsphase fast zu halbieren.

 

Eine weitere Erkenntnis in Zusammenhang mit Vitamin D ist, dass eine ausreichende Versorgung Störungen des Immunsystems vorbeugen und die Entstehung altersbedingter Krankheiten hemmen kann.

 

Einer englischen Studie zufolge wirkte sich der Vitamin D-Gehalt im Blut positiv auf die Länge der Telomere der weißen Blutkörperchen aus. Telomere sind die Chromosomenenden. Sie sind wichtige Strukturelemente der DNA. Bei jeder Teilung der Zelle werden die Telomere kürzer und wenn sie eine kritische „Kürze“ erreichen, kann sich die Zelle nicht weiter teilen und stirbt meistens ab. Durch die Länge der Telomere ist also die Lebensdauer einer Zelle bestimmt. In der oben erwähnten Studie stellte man in den weißen Blutkörperchen der mit Vitamin D ausreichend versorgten Personen längere Telomere fest. Der Vergleich mit den Werten von Personen ohne ausreichende Vitamin D Versorgung war bemerkenswert. Der Unterschied betrug 5 Jahre Telomeralterung! Auf Grund dieser Erkenntnisse wird Vitamin D auch als ein wichtiger Anti-aging-Faktor des Immunsystems bezeichnet.

 

Übrigens auch das Herz leidet, wenn Vitamin D fehlt! Etwa 1,6 Mio. Menschen leiden in Deutschland an Herzinsuffizienz. Untersuchungen von Dr. Armin Zittermann von der Universität Bonn zeigen, dass eine Unterversorgung mit Vitamin D zur Entstehung von Herzinsuffizienz beiträgt. Herzinsuffizienz führt zur verminderten Pumpleistung des Herzens. Die Folgen sind Blutunterversorgung der Organe und der Muskulatur, schnelle Ermüdung, Luftknappheit, jagender Puls. Auf Grund der schlechten Durchblutung entsteht Niereninsuffizienz, die zu Bildung von Ödemen führt.

 

Das Herz reagiert mit der Ausschüttung des Entwässerungshormons ANP (atriales natriuretisches Peptid). Es ist bekannt, dass Vitamin D die Produktion von ANP hemmt. Untersuchungen an 54 Probanden mit Herzschwäche und 34 gesunden Personen ergaben, dass bei den kranken Personen der Vitamin D-Gehalt im Blut um bis zu 50 % niedriger war und die ANP-Menge stieg um mehr als 100 % an.

 

Entgegen der weit verbreiteten Meinung, dass eine ausreichende Vitamin D Versorgung der Menschen über die Bildung aus 7-Dehydrochlesterol unter Einwirkung von UV-Strahlung (primär das Sonnenlicht) möglich ist, stehen seriöse Untersuchungen, die das Gegenteil beweisen. Vitamin D-Mangel gilt als eines der häufigsten Vitaminmängel in Deutschland. Bis zu 90 % der erwachsenen Bevölkerung verfügt über weniger als dem Minimalbedarf. Dieser wird mit 5 Mikrogramm täglich beziffert. Die Haut älterer Menschen bildet nicht mehr so viel Vitamin D als die von jüngeren. Hinzu kommt, dass unter den Breitengraden Deutschlands und insbesondere in den Großstädten und industriellen Ballungsgebieten die Intensität der Sonneneinstrahlung vom Herbst bis Frühjahr überhaupt nicht ausreicht, um in der Haut genügend Vitamin D zu bilden. Von einer mangelhaften Vitamin D Versorgung sind besonders Kinder, Jugendliche, stillende Mütter, Vegetarier und ältere Menschen betroffen, sowie Personen, die andauernd Arzneimittel einnehmen. In den USA wird momentan sogar eine Kampagne hinsichtlich der Optimierung der Vitamin D Versorgung durch geeignete Nahrungsmittel betrieben, da etwa 40 % der Bevölkerung unzureichend versorgt sind. Ärzte und Ernährungsberater werden aufgefordert, die Menschen, insbesondere Ältere und Schwarze, entsprechend aufzuklären.

 

Optimal wäre die tägliche Versorgung mit 20 Mikrogramm Vitamin D, bei älteren Menschen noch mehr, bis zu 30 Mikrogramm täglich. Selbst eine dauerhafte Versorgung mit 50 Mikrogramm täglich wird als völlig unbedenklich angesehen. Es muss aber auch erwähnt werden, dass eine regelmäßige Versorgung mit noch höheren Dosen zu unerwünschten Nebenwirkungen wie Artheriosklerose, Nierensteinbildung und Bluthochdruck führen kann.

 

Die reichhaltigsten Vitamin-D-Quellen sind Fischleberöle und Salzwasserfische wie Sardinen, Heringe, Lachs und Makrelen. Weniger Vitamin D ist in Eiern, Fleisch, Milch und Butter enthalten. Pflanzen enthalten kaum, Früchte und Nüsse praktisch überhaupt kein Vitamin D.

 

Pilze dagegen sind bedeutende Vitamin D Lieferanten. Man kann mit einer Portion (100 bis 150 g) Pilznahrung einen erheblichen Teil des täglichen Vitamin D Bedarfes abdecken. Diese Information dürfte besonders Vegetarier interessieren, die tierische Nahrung meiden.

 

In einschlägigen Untersuchungen haben finnische Wissenschaftler in verschiedenen Pilzen bis zu 29,82 Mikrogramm Ergocalciferol in 100 g Frischpilzen gefunden. Das entspricht mehr als 100 % des optimalen Tagesbedarfs. Auch Champignons und Austernpilze, Speisepilze die ganzjährig überall verfügbar sind, enthalten reichlich Vitamin D. Es sind auch Methoden entwickelt worden, den Vitamin D-Gehalt von Pilzen noch erheblich zu steigern. Dazu werden die geernteten Pilze mit UV-B Licht bestrahlt. Man schickt sie sozusagen für wenige Minuten auf die Sonnenbank.

 

Im Herbst 2008 brachte der große kalifornische Champignonanbaubetrieb Monterey Mushrooms Inc. unter der Bezeichnung „Sun Bella“ Champignons auf den Markt, die nach einer UV-Bestrahlung so viel Vitamin D enthalten, dass eine Portion von rd. 85 g bis zu 100 % des Tagesbedarfes eines Erwachsenen abdecken. In der jüngsten Ausgabe der US Zeitschrift „Mushroom News“ hat die Firma Xenon bereits eine ganzseitige Anzeige geschaltet: „Enhance your mushrooms with Vitamin D using Xenon Pulsed Light“ .

 

Und damit wäre es auch belegt: Wer Pilze isst, hat genügend

Vitamin D. Wer Pilze isst, lebt länger.

 

Verwendete Literatur

 

Beelman, R. 2006: Optimizing vitamin D2 in mushrooms. Penn State Short Course. Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA. USA

Calvo, M.S. and Whiting, S.J. 2006: Public Health Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Optimal Vitamin D Status in Population with Special Needs. J. Nutr. 136. 1135-1139.

Gröber, U. 2008: Vitamin D – das „Anti-Aging-Hormon“ unsereres Immunsystems. Z. für Orthomolekulare Medizin. 1. 22-24.

Gröber, U. 2008: Vitamin D und Prostatakarzinom. Z. für Orthomolekulare Medizin. 2. 5.

Lelley, J. and Vetter, J. 2004. Orthomolecular Medicine and Mushroom Consumption – An Attractive Aspect for Promoting Production. Mushroom Science Bd. 16., 637-643.

Lelley, J. and Vetter; J. 2005. The Possible Role of Mushrooms in Maitaining Good Health and Preventing Diseases. Acta Edulis Fungi. Vol. 12. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products. 412-419.

Mattila,P.H., Piironen, V.I., Uusi-Rauve, E.J. and Koivistoinen, P.E. 1994: Vitamin D Content in Edible Mushrooms. J. of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 42/11. 2449-2453.

Mattila, P., Lampi, A-M., Ronkainan, R., Toivo, J. and Piironen, V. 2002: Sterol and vitamn D2 contents in some wild and cultivated mushrooms. Food Chemistry. 76. 293-298

Ramagopalan, S.V., Maugeri, N.J., Handunnetthi, L. et al. 2009: Expression of the Multiple Sclerosis-Associated MHC Class II Allele HLA-DRB1*1501 Is Regulated by Vitamin D. PLoS Genet 5(2): e1000369. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000369

Roberts, J.S., Teichert, A. and McHugh, T.H. 2008: Vitamin D2 Formation from Post-Harvest UV-B Treatment of Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) and Retention During Storage. J. Agric. Food Chem. 56/12. 4541-4544.

Weatherby, C. 2008: Vitamin D Linked to Better Heart Health. Beitrag von “Vital Chices Newsletter”

Wood, M. 2008: Vitamin D-Rich Mushrooms: A Research Success! News from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (12.11.2008).


NEU!

 Mushrooms -  Cultivation and nutritive properties

Von Jan I. Lelley, GAMU, Institut für Pilzforschung, Krefeld

Abstract

According to the stand of the modern applied mycological research the most commonly used term “edible mushroom” does not express all significant aspects large fungi can be used. Additionally to bioconversion for food and animal feed production there are at least three other fields where large fungi may also get economical relevance: for establishing of ectomycorrhiza, for medical application and for soil decontamination including environmental enginAbstract Mushrooms – Cultivation and nutritive properties Jan I. Lelley Fungi form the second largest community of organisms word wide behind insects. The so called large mushrooms are represented in Europe with approx. 8000 to 12000 species. Mushrooms in general have a bad image because their possible toxicity is a view widely held by consumers. According to current scientific research many large mushrooms have a social and/or economic use; they are therefore called “useful mushrooms”. Mushroom cultivation deals in general with fruit body production for human consumption. Relevant steps of the cultivation technology are unspecific, irrespective of the species. However, there are significant differences in details like substrate components, production technology of the substrate and environmental requirements during the different cultivation stages. Mushroom cultivation requires high labour costs. In the western countries mushroom producers are therefore under pressure from producers located in low labour-cost countries. The possible alternative could be the use of mycelium biomass of useful mushrooms for the production of food and food supplements. The nutritive value of useful mushrooms is much higher than is known generally. Mushrooms are in this context comparable with fruits and vegetables. From some points of view they are even more valuable than meat. According to these facts frequent consumption of mushrooms can be highly recommended.

Der erste Beitrag kann in voller Länge in englischer Fassung, der zweite in deutscher Fassung vom Autor angefordert werden
(s. Kontakt)

NEU!

Use of medicinal mushrooms in Germany – history, present situation, outlook

by Jan I. Lelley, GAMU Ltd. Institute for Mushroom Research, 47800 Krefeld

First of all please let me give a basic statement: Officially in Germany we haven’t medicinal mushrooms. We only have useful mushrooms and some of them have also a medicinal effect – in other words – healing properties. This is similar to garlic, apples or red wine for example. If we speak about medicinal mushrooms the pharmaceutical industry in my country and its lobby would intervene until the German authorities produced an appropriate regulation to classify mushrooms as medicine. This would result in a long lasting and extremely expensive process of registration before Ganoderma or Grifola could be used. This should be avoided. Therefore, we deal with mushrooms which count only as foodstuff like asparagus, tomato, lemon, apple and others which all have specific healing properties. Decades before in the western world we only cultivated the white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and this only for consumption. Looking at the Proceedings of the ISMS Congresses the first contribution on medical effect was published in 1972 in London by Tokita, Shibukawa, Yasumoto and Kaneda from the Department of Food Chemistry, Tohoku University in Senday, Japan. They isolated a plasma-cholesterol reducing substance from shiitake. Two years later during the 9th ISMS Congress in Japan at least nine studies dealt with medical effects of mushrooms, especially those of shiitake. From this time and especially from the early nineties the knowledge of medical effects of large mushrooms grew rapidly. In the meantime China became the leading country in this context because the use of mushrooms had been part of TCM for several thousand of years. A number of publications in several journals, international conferences on the topic “medicinal mushrooms” and many providers of medicinal mushroom products gave the impression East Asia - especially China - is the cradle of this field of applied mycology. However, this statement is not absolutely true.

History

No doubt East Asia, especially China, is leading in the cultivation and use of medicinal mushrooms. But this kind of medicine has also been known in the western hemisphere for thousands of years. The knowledge of medicinal mushrooms and their use was also widespread in Europe and America. As Christopher Hobbs described in his book “Medicinal Mushrooms – An Exploration of Tradition, Healing and Culture” in 1995, the Indians in North America used puffballs and earthstars as well as Fomitopsis officinalis as medicine. In Middle and South America mushrooms were also well known by the native population, but we don’t know exactly whether their use was only medicinal or mainly for generating a hallucinogenic or visionary effect. Europe, especially Germany, has also a long tradition of using mushrooms as medicine. Already antique scholars like Galen, Dioscorides and mainly Pliny (Gaius Secundus) reported on applications of a specific mushroom which was called “Agaricum” and was in reality Laricifomes officinalis a wood-destroying species, especially of larch. Later in the Middle Ages we have reliable reports on the use of mushrooms in herb preparations for healing purposes. In “Codex manuscriptus medicinalis”, published in 795 A.D in Germany and also in the writings of Hildegard von Bingen, the outstanding German natural scientist in the 12th century, the use of mushrooms mainly that of Agaricum, as part of herb mixtures is well documented. Emanuel Merck was a chemist. He opened up his pharmacy in 1668 in Darmstadt. From his small shop the worldwide pharmaceutical and chemical company grew which has an annual turn over of 10 billion euros. In those years lots of herbs were used as medicine. They were partly collected but also cultivated in cloistered herb gardens. Already Hildegard von Bingen ran her own herb garden. However, the selection of medicines in Emanuel Merck’s pharmacy also contained mushrooms. The following species were used in those days:

1. Fomes fomentarius – used to stop bleeding.
2. Laricifomes officinals, Agaricum – also used to stop bleeding and for chest disease and as a laxative.
3. Langermannia gigantean, Giant Puff Ball – to stop bleeding as well. The paste made from the mature spores was a significant medium in the Middle Ages to stop bleeding after amputation. In Germany Langermannia gigantean is also used in homeopathy and is always available.
4. Auricularia auricular, Jew´s Ear – used for inflammation of the eye and throat.
5. Amanita muscaria, Fly agaric – used for malignant tumours and for nervous disorders
6. Phallus impudicus, Stinkhorn – used for gout
7. Boletus satanas - used for gall and liver disorders
8. Armillaria mellea, Honey Fungus – used as a laxative.

At the beginning of the 19th century the first small factories for herb extract production were set up. The demand for raw material increased. This demand couldn’t be covered by collecting the herbs. Cultivation gained more and more importance. And what happened to the mushrooms? The people were not able to cultivate them. It is not even as easy to collect mushrooms as herbs. They don’t occur in natural sites as reliably and in such abundance as plants do. Therefore medicinal mushrooms sank more and more into oblivion. Finally they were almost completely forgotten in Europe. Mushrooms were only regarded as edible or poisonous and after cultivation techniques were developed some of them became cultivated for consumption.

Present situation

As mentioned above the ISMS Congress in Japan and Taiwan in 1974 opened the eyes of the delegates from the western hemisphere. Japanese colleagues, especially Dr. Kisaku Mori, showed us several health properties of shiitake and proposed cultivating mushrooms not only for simple consumption as everyday vegetables but also as healthy food. However, it took additionally about twenty years until some western scientists started to pay more attention to the medicinal effect of mushrooms. In the USA Kenneth Jones, Terry Willard, Paul Stamets but especially Christopher Hobbs published valuable information on this matter using East Asian, mainly Chinese, sources. In Germany Zeitlmayr reported as early as 1950 on the healing properties of mushrooms. His and also other statements were based on the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Europe. They had nothing in common with the Asian sources. In 1978 Molitoris, former mycology professor in Regensburg (Germany), gave a talk at our Institute on “Fungi as herbs – historical review and outlook”. However, at that time the contributions in the scientific and commercial literature about medicinal mushrooms in America and Europe did not lead to their use in practice. In Germany the book “The healing power of fungi – healthy with mycotherapy “ I published in 1997 set up a development toward the use, sale and manufacturing of medicinal mushroom products. This development is unbroken until now. In the meantime the number of people in my country using medicinal mushroom products regularly increases constantly. Also the quantity of the used products increases correspondingly. During the last ten years several small companies have gone into business in Germany dealing with medicinal mushroom products. Most of them buy mushroom extracts and powders in China. On the basis of Chinese raw material they have capsules and tablets produced in German factories. There are only very few companies cultivating medicinal mushrooms themselves and those doing so are organically growing farms. The use of organically grown medicinal mushrooms is regarded as a useful argument when competing with those who buy their material from the Chinese. On the other hand the price of the products imported from China is simply without competition. Let me give you some examples: The price for dried and ground shiitake, reishi or maitake – in other words the powder of these three mushrooms – including airfreight from Shanghai to Düsseldorf, Germany – comes up to 18 USD/kg on average. It is simply impossible to produce this material at such a low cost in Germany. The same is also true with the extracts. Depending on the mushroom species we can buy extracts in China – including the airfreight – for between 90 and 140 USD/kg. Of course it is a risk to buy these products in China without having reliable partners there. It takes time to establish a good partnership with Chinese companies. However, after establishing good connections with Chinese managers, you will not have any problems with the quality of the products and not even with the terms of shipment. Regularly buyers receive an official certificate which contains results to evaluate the quality of the products. The German market for medicinal mushroom products is still small but it is increasing constantly. Considering the fact that Germans in general have a high affinity to alternative medicinal methods the economic chance of the companies dealing with medicinal mushrooms in my country is not bad. There are different ways used for marketing the products: The sale via internet to consumers is well established. In the meantime also several pharmacies put medicinal mushroom products onto their shelves or alternatively they buy and sell them to customers according to their orders. Also some medical doctors with a special qualification in alternative medicine use or recommend such products to their patients. The so-called Heilpraktiker which is a specific medical profession in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are also highly interested in medicinal mushrooms. However, the problem we have to handle is the still undecided status of medicinal mushrooms and their products in Germany. The companies and consumers try to classify them as food supplements. Some local and federal authorities but especially representatives of the pharmaceutical industry try to classify them as medicines. The pharmaceutical industry started to fight against companies which are involved in the medicinal mushroom business and claim they in fact deal in and sell unauthorized medicine. Summarizing the present situation there is no doubt about the successful introduction of a new use of large mushrooms. They are available today not only as food. Some of them are also used as food supplements. However, this development has not led to significantly higher mushroom production in Germany. Not even of those which are primarily used for food supplement production.

Outlook

In Germany we expect a constantly increasing demand for powder and extracts of so-called medicinal mushrooms. Although only used as food supplements consumers like them, medical doctors and Heilpraktiker recommend them and in the meantime all involved have learned a lot about their very satisfying therapeutical effects. I believe using mushroom powder and extracts for maintaining good health and also curing different disorders has been firmly established in Germany. The question is how we can handle the status of these mushrooms and the products made from them. Can we establish nutriceuticals as a new class of products or can we use them alternatively as food supplements. Maybe in future some of them can also be registered as medicine. It is a very exciting question. At the present time it is difficult to predict whether the pharmaceutical industry has started to pay more attention to mushrooms and if it has also perhaps started using them as a source for new medicines. However, I believe that even if the pharmaceutical industry uses mushrooms as a source for medicine the fruit body production will not increase, not even in Germany. I suppose if the pharmaceutical industry cannot do without the natural fungal material, it will make tremendous efforts to establish liquid or solid state fermentation technologies producing fungal biomass. Finally dried mycelium powder, alternatively mycelium extract, will be used for manufacturing commercial products. But even then the pharmaceutical industry will not enter seriously the medicinal mushroom business and the sale of such products will remain in the hands of small companies. I don’t believe such a development could help to establish relevant medicinal mushroom farms in Germany or generally in the Western World. I believe the tremendous advantages of Chinese suppliers, especially by offering low prices on the one hand and providing good-quality material on the other hand, cannot be beaten at least in the next two decades. By the way the economic exchange with China has a high priority also from political point of view in most industrialised countries. Therefore it seems very clear to me: we are going to buy and use Chinese fungal material as a source for nutriceutical production in Germany. Finally may I repeat my statement: I am aware – no I am sure – the use of medicinal mushrooms will remain in Germany in future a remarkable factor for health care.

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