THE NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICAL BENEFITS OF AGARICUS BISPORUS : A REVIEW

Abstract

Mushrooms are considered as potential source of many essential nutrients and therapeutic bioactive compounds. Agaricus bisporus belongs to Basidiomycetes family and the most important commercially cultivated mushroom in the world. The rich nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, fibers, minerals, and vitamins present this mushroom as famous healthy food. Moreover, because of the presence of some active ingredients, such as polysaccharides, lipopolysaccharides, essential amino acids, peptides, glycoproteins, nucleosides, triterpenoids, lectins, fatty acids and their derivatives, these mushrooms have been reported to have antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antihypercholesterolemic, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities. This study is focused on reviewing the recent studies published in the medical and nutritional properties of Agaricus bisporus. Investigations on the mushroom have accelerated during the last ten years so that only reports published after 2006 have been considered.