Oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms – the mushrooms from Veshenkov' family used in cookery and medicine.

Outward and growth

Oyster mushrooms – mushrooms of the large size, with a hat of 5-30 cm in the diameter of a round or rakovinoobrazny form. Color of a hat depends on age of a mushroom. At a young plant it has dark gray color, at a mature mushroom color of a hat ashy-violet. At an old mushroom the hat has a whitish or yellowish shade. The leg is short, slightly bent aside.

Mushrooms of family of Veshenkov are widespread in the countries with a temperate climate, in particular, in Russia and Ukraine. Grow on deciduous trees (willows, aspens, oaks, birches) at groups. The mycelium of the Oyster mushroom can be grown up easily in house conditions on substrate from the vegetable waste containing cellulose and лингин.

Uniqueness of mushrooms is caused by their nutritious properties, low caloric content of Oyster mushrooms and simplicity of their cultivation.

Chemical composition and properties of the Oyster mushroom

On the nutritious properties Oyster mushrooms can be compared with fruit, and on some elements, for example, to phosphorus, even with fish.

Proteins the mushroom contains 20-25% of dry matter, and their digestibility makes 70-80%. The fruit body contains 10 of 14th necessary for the person micro and macrocells including iron. Also there is a cobalt and other scarce microelements at a diet of the person.

At a mycelium of Oyster mushrooms there is an active D2 vitamin and fat-soluble vitamin E (tocopherol) which content is slightly lower, than in cod liver. Also contains in a mushroom folic and ascorbic acids, biotin, a pyridoxine, Riboflavinum, thiamin. And on the maintenance of Niacinum the mushroom occupies one of the leading places among food stuffs.

At the mushroom growing on a tree there is a substance under the name beta glucan which is capable to suppress tumor cells, helps to struggle with viruses, increases immunity, lowers the level of sugar and cholesterol in blood.

Low also makes the caloric content of Oyster mushrooms on 100 g about 33 kcal.

Useful properties of Oyster mushrooms and their use in medicine

Widely known useful properties of the Oyster mushroom containing the fatty acids reducing cholesterol level in blood allow to use spirit and water infusions of mushrooms for prevention of atherosclerosis and a hypertension.

Already scientifically a fact in evidence is that the mycelium of the Oyster mushroom has anticarcinogenic activity. The constant use of mushrooms in food is capable to reduce effects beam and physical therapy and in some cases increases resistance of an organism to radiation. Therefore doctors recommend to use a mushroom to patients in the period of chemotherapy and after it. The mushroom promotes active removal from an organism of salts of heavy metals, radionuclides, increases immunity and possesses antiviral action.

Researches proved that juice of the Oyster mushroom is capable to stop colibacillus growth.

Dry powder is excellent means for decrease in products of peroxide oxidation and triglycerides in blood, kidneys and a liver.

One more remarkable property of the Oyster mushroom is its ability to act as a sorbent and antioxidant that allows to normalize digestion and to recover its functions.

Mushrooms are capable to save the person from such diseases as tuberculosis, pneumonia, tropical malaria, and also from bacterial diseases of eyes.

The mineral substances which are contained in Oyster mushrooms allow to act as the regulator in a metabolism. They are a part of many enzymes and are the main material in creation of bone tissues.

Low caloric content of Oyster mushrooms allows to apply widely them in dietary food.

Positive effect from the use

Summing up the result of all aforesaid, it is possible to conclude that the daily use of 100-150 g of mushrooms:

• Promotes the prevention and treatment of stomach ulcer;
• Promotes removal of radioelements from an organism;
• Interfere with development of atherosclerosis;
• Normalize the level of cholesterol and blood pressure;
• Thanks to the low caloric content of Oyster mushrooms are dietary food;
• Increases immune activity of an organism;
• Improves work of intestines;
• Cell aging detains;
• The mycelium of Oyster mushrooms reduces risk of development of tumoral diseases;
• Has antineoplastic effect.

Contraindications to the use

The chitin which is contained in an oyster mushroom is hard acquired by an organism therefore it is contraindicated to use them in the raw. At preparation it is obligatory to subject to thermal treatment!

When collecting mushrooms it is necessary to consider that disputes can cause allergic reaction at hit in lungs.