Mushrooms could be a rich source of functional ingredients, for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, to enrich foods with vitamins and protein, to help reduce salt content, or to boost the fibre content of baked goods. They also provide all nine essential amino acids, making them a potential plant-based protein source. A 2017 study in the journal Appetite suggested that mushrooms may even be more filling than meat when meals were matched for protein content.

Researchers have identified many species of mushrooms that have an abundance of beneficial phytochemicals like phenolic compounds, flavonoids and carotenoids, and several studies have suggested beneficial effects on the immune system and blood glucose. However, looking at their nutraceutical properties, a Portuguese research team wrote in Trends in Food Science & Technology in 2017 that European use of functional ingredients from mushrooms still lags behind their popularity in Asia, wher they are consumed to convey a host of purported benefits, including to improve cognitive function, immunity and stamina. The team suggested that stricter European legislation on functional ingredients was restricting their potential in this area.

Meanwhile, other mushroom-derived compounds are on the rise. Companies like Cambridge Commodities Ltd and PLT Health Solutions supply vitamin D powder from mushrooms, providing a plant-derived source of the vitamin, which can be hard to obtain from the diet, particularly for those who eat few animal products. Apart from a few types of fatty fish and fortified dairy products, mushrooms are one of the few dietary sources of this essential vitamin.

Mushrooms also hold potential to improve the flavour of healthy foods, given that they are naturally high in umami. Scelta Mushrooms is one company to have harnessed this characteristic to allow food manufacturers to reduce salt in their products without sacrificing taste. The five basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami – often work in synergy with each other, meaning that a lower quantity of salt may taste saltier when in the presence of an umami-rich ingredient like mushroom extract.

When it comes to flavour, US-based MycoTechnology has also developed an enzymatic solution from mushrooms that reduces the bitter, metallic taste associated with many stevia-derived sweeteners.

Mushrooms tap into many current health and wellness trends that concern the food industry and modern consumers, from salt reduction to plant-based diets, desire for more protein, to finding natural, low-calorie, sweet-tasting alternatives to sugar.

Meanwhile, researchers continue to unearth the potential of mushrooms as a functional food, although more work needs to be done.