Sparassis Explained

Sparassis (also known as cauliflower mushroom) is a genus of parasitic and saprobic mushroom characterised by its unique shape and appearance and is found around the globe. [1] Its appearance can be described as similar to a sea sponge, a brain or a head of cauliflower, hence its popular name.

It is increasingly cultivated and sold in Korea, Japan, the United States and Australia.

The generic name comes from the Greek sparassein, meaning to tear.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Sparassis:[2]

The best-known and most widely collected species are S. crispa (found in Europe and eastern North America) and S. radicata (found in western North America). These species have a very similar appearance and some authorities treat them as conspecific. Their colour ranges from light brown-yellow to yellow-grey or a creamy-white cauliflower colour. They are normally 10 to 25 cm tall but can grow to be quite large, with reported cases of fruiting bodies more than 50cm tall and 14 kg in weight. Their unique look and size means they are unlikely to be mistaken for any poisonous/inedible mushrooms. They grow as parasites or saprobes on the roots or bases of various species of hardwoods, especially oak, and conifers, and hence are most commonly found growing close to fir, pine, oak or spruce trees.

Edibility

Sparassis crispa can be very tasty but should be thoroughly cleaned before use. The folds may contain dirt and other material because, as it grows, the basidiocarp envelops objects such as pine needles. Italian gastronome Antonio Carluccio said that European S. crispa should be picked when creamy white, because once yellow it is too indigestible to eat. It is suitable for drying and reconstituting because it retains its cartilaginous texture and hence is good for soups.

S. radicata is also edible,[3] as is S. spathulata, a cauliflower mushroom which looks similar to Grifola frondosa.[4]

S. crispa is also widely used in traditional Chinese medicine because it contains active pharmacological ingredients. In order to study its medicinal value better, the genomic sequence of S. crispa was published in October 2018.[5] The dry weight of the basidiocarp was found to contain up to 43.6% Beta-glucan,[6] which was approved for the treatment of cancer [7] in Japan and most recently recommended for COVID-19 patients to overcome inflammation.[8]

Experiments suggest that S. crispa contains chemicals that may stimulate the immune system and has many biological properties including: anti-tumor,[9] [10] antiviral activity (reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity),[11] neuroprotection,[12] cardioprotection,[13] anti-inflammation,[14] hyperlipidemia,[15] anti-diabetic medication,[16] antimicrobial compounds,[17] [18] [19] and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).[18]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Pasailiuk . M.V. . 2019-12-29 . Biological peculiarities of a rare mushroom Sparassis nemecii (Sparassidaceae, Polyporales) on plant substrates in pure culture . Ukrainian Botanical Journal . 76 . 6 . 493–498 . 10.15407/ukrbotj76.06.493 . 213788431 . 0372-4123. free .
  2. Web site: Loading... . 2022-04-07 . www.mycobank.org.
  3. Book: Davis. R. Michael. Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Sommer. Robert. Menge. John A.. University of California Press. 2012. 978-0-520-95360-4. Berkeley. 26. 797915861.
  4. Book: Meuninck, Jim . Foraging Mushrooms Oregon: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Mushrooms . 2017 . . 978-1-4930-2669-2 . 114.
  5. Kiyama . Genome sequence of the cauliflower mushroom Sparassis crispa (Hanabiratake) and its association with beneficial usage . Scientific Reports . 2018 . 8 . 1 . 16053 . 10.1038/s41598-018-34415-6 . 30375506 . 6207663 . 2018NatSR...816053K .
  6. Ohno . Antitumor 1,3-β-glucan from cultured fruit body of Sparassis crispa . Biol. Pharm. Bull. . 2000 . 23 . 7 . 866–72 . 10.1248/bpb.23.866 . 10919368 . free .
  7. Kimura . Natural products and biological activity of the pharmacologically active cauliflower mushroom Sparassis crispa . BioMed Research International. 2013 . 2013 . 982317 . 10.1155/2013/982317 . 23586068 . 3613060 . free .
  8. Rao. 2020. Role of Immune Dysregulation in Increased Mortality Among a Specific Subset of COVID-19 Patients and Immune-Enhancement Strategies for Combatting Through Nutritional Supplements. Frontiers in Immunology. 11. 1548. 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01548. 7363949. 32733487. free. 220405084.
  9. Yoshikawa . Novel phthalide compounds from Sparassis crispa (Hanabiratake), Hanabiratakelide A-C, exhibiting anti-cancer related activity . Biol. Pharm. Bull. . 2010 . 33 . 8 . 1355–9 . 10.1248/bpb.33.1355 . 20686231 . free .
  10. Yamamoto . Antitumor activities of low molecular weight fraction derived from the cultured fruit body of Sparassis crispa in tumor-bearing mice . Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi . 2007 . 54 . 9 . 419–423. 10.3136/nskkk.54.419 . free .
  11. Wang . Apeptide with HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity from the medicinal mushroom Russula paludosa . Peptides . 2007 . 28 . 3 . 560–5 . 10.1016/j.peptides.2006.10.004 . 17113195 . 7912537 .
  12. Hu . Mitochondria Related Pathway Is Essential for Polysaccharides Purified from Sparassis crispa Mediated Neuro-Protection against Glutamate-Induced Toxicity in Differentiated PC12 Cells . Int. J. Mol. Sci. . 2016 . 17 . 2 . 133 . 10.3390/ijms17020133 . 26821016 . 4783876 . free .
  13. Hong . Hypocholesterolemic Effects of the Cauliflower Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom, Sparassis crispa (Higher Basidiomycetes), in Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemic Rats. . Int. J. Med. Mushrooms . 2015 . 17 . 10 . 965–75 . 10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.v17.i10.60 . 26756188 .
  14. Kim . Sparassis crispa suppresses mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation: Role of calcium, mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-κB . Int. J. Mol. Med. . 2012 . 30 . 2 . 344–50 . 10.3892/ijmm.2012.1000 . 22614038 . free .
  15. Bang . New Aromatic Compounds from the Fruiting Body of Sparassis crispa (Wulf.) and Their Inhibitory Activities on Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 mRNA Expression . J. Agric. Food Chem. . 2017 . 65 . 30 . 6152–6157 . 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b02657 . 28689410 .
  16. Yamamoto . Orally and topically administered Sparassis crispa (Hanabiratake) improves healing of skin wounds in mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes . Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry . 2013 . 77 . 6 . 1303–5 . 10.1271/bbb.121016 . 23748764 . 45728199 .
  17. Woodward . Two new antifungal metabolites produced by Sparassis crispa in culture and in decayed trees . Journal of General Microbiology . 1993 . 139 . 1 . 153–159. 10.1099/00221287-139-1-153 . free .
  18. Kawagishi . Novel bioactive compound from the Sparassis crispa mushroom . Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. . 2007 . 71 . 7 . 1804–6 . 10.1271/bbb.70192 . 17617705 . 6521442 . free .
  19. Kodani . Occurrence and identification of chalcones from the culinary-medicinal cauliflower mushroom Sparassis crispa (Wulf.) Fr. (Aphyllophoromycetideae) . International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms . 2008 . 10 . 4 . 331–336. 10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v10.i4.50 .