Mineral Element Enrichment of Mushrooms for the Production of More Effective Functional Foods

In the last three decades, human awareness of the promotion of good health through dietary intervention had increased. Hence, there has been advocacy for the promotion and consumption of health-enhancing foods referred to as functional foods. Myconutrients and chemicals obtained mainly from higher fungi have also received attention as sources of bioactive compounds that can serve as functional foods. Moreover, the importance of mineral elements in our diet for the maintenance of human health cannot be over-emphasized. These elements are responsible for a lot of chemical and electrical processes that enhance the stable homeostatic physiological state in the body and their absence normally results in deficiency diseases. These processes are highly specified and specialized and the human body can only function properly if the accurate balance of minerals and other elements is continually being supplied to look after our system. Most staple foods consumed by humans are lacking in one essential mineral element or the other. It is therefore expedient to find a way to remedy this. Edible and medicinal mushrooms that can easily absorb minerals and can bio-accumulate them as functional organic compounds during growth can therefore be used as a vehicle to supply these mineral elements that are not in adequate amounts in our diet. This will certainly be a definite strategy to solve the problem of mineral malnutrition. Some of these essential elements are selenium, iron, zinc, calcium and so on. This paper, therefore, highlights the potential of mushrooms as a hydra-headed vehicle for the supply of mycoactive compounds and essential minerals in our diets as a means of promoting human health.