The Neurotrophic and Neuroprotective Potential of Macrofungi

Diversity of wild and cultivated macrofungi as edible and medicinal mushrooms has long been known by humans as a source of valuable food and medicines used by tradipraticians. In the fungal kingdom, macrofungi taxonomically belong to two phyla, the Basidiomycota (class Agaricomycetes) and Ascomycota (class Pezizomycetes). Macrofungi have been used in traditional Asian and European Medicines, and based on 90,000 known worldwide distributed mushroom species, are considered an important resource for modern clinical and pharmacological research. They are regarded as a source of high- and low-molecular-weight bioactive compounds (alkaloids, lipids, phenolics, polysaccharides, proteins, steroids, terpenoids, etc.) with more than 130 therapeutic effects (anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, antiviral, cytotoxic, hepatoprotective, hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, immunomodulatory, etc.). There is also scientific evidence of using macrofungi as neuroprotectants, that is, Agaricus blazei (¼ Agaricus subrufescens), Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola frondosa, Hericium erinaceus, Pleurotus ostreatus, and Trametes versicolor. However, their neuroprotective effects have not been fully explored. This review discusses recent advances in research on the neuroprotective potential of macrofungi and perspectives for their application as neuroprotectants in biomedicine to prevent, support, or cure neurodegenerative disorders.