This book, as part of the “Natural Products Chemistry of Global Plants” series, describes in detail the health-promoting wild edible and medicinal mushrooms specific to the Himalayas region. The focus of the book is to draw on the rich culture, folklore, and environment of the Upper Himalayas, which represents a scientifically significant region. The Himalayas has rich plant resources and a large diversity of plants and mushrooms, which can provide important health benefits as detailed throughout the text. Drawing attention to these mushrooms with detailed scientific descriptions may help in the awareness and in developing sustainable growth of these important resources. Features Provides an opportunity to describe the wild edible and medicinal mushrooms from this scientifically significant region. Represents a wider variety of mushrooms than previously published in other books. Presents more content related to traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, distribution, processing, toxicology, conservation, and future prospective of individual mushrooms. The plants and mushrooms of the region are valuable resources not only to local populations but to those living outside the region. Scientists are monitoring the rich Himalayan plant resources and the consequences of climate change on this precarious ecosystem.

Comprehensive and timely, Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms: Technology and Applications provides the most up to date information on the various edible mushrooms on the market. Compiling knowledge on their production, application and nutritional effects, chapters are dedicated to the cultivation of major species such as Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus subrufescens, Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma lucidum and others. With contributions from top researchers from around the world, topics covered include: Biodiversity and biotechnological applications Cultivation technologies Control of pests and diseases Current market overview Bioactive mechanisms of mushrooms Medicinal and nutritional properties Extensively illustrated with over 200 images, this is the perfect resource for researchers and professionals in the mushroom industry, food scientists and nutritionists, as well as academics and students of biology, agronomy, nutrition and medicine.

Presents the latest R & D information on medicinal mushrooms from diverse geographical locations Offers comprehensive coverage of the most important application areas of medicinal mushrooms Includes contributions by eminently experienced researchers in the field of medicinal mushrooms Medicinal mushrooms are increasingly gaining attention worldwide because of their pharmacologically bioactive compounds, which have demonstrated potent and unique clinical properties. Scientific studies carried out during the last decade have confirmed their efficacy in treating a wide range of diseases. Extracts and bioactive compounds obtained from mushrooms have been used medicinally as anticancer, immunomodulator, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, neuroprotectant, cardioprotectant, antioxidant, and anti-hypoglycemic agents, and in stem cell-based therapies. Introducing readers to the latest developments in, and ongoing research efforts on, medicinal mushrooms, this book gathers articles contributed by eminent researchers in different disciplines and from around the globe. Highlighting the tremendous potential of mushrooms for the development of new drugs, the topics covered include but are not limited to: Recent progress in research on the pharmaceutical potential of medicinal mushrooms and prospects for their clinicalapplication Edible mushroom neuronutraceuticals: Basis of therapeutics Overview of therapeutic efficacy of mushrooms Mushrooms – a wealth of resources for prospective stem cell-based therapies Mushrooms as potential natural cytostatics

Fungal natural products are among some of the earliest described sources of bioactive compounds. Basidiomycetes have been a prolific source of compounds, particularly as a source of antibiotics and antifungals. Despite advances in target-based and synthetic methods for drug discovery, natural products continue to be an important source of novel compounds. This book is a comprehensive guide to many important fungal species with a focus on their phytochemistry, potential sources of bioactive compounds, known chemistry and toxicology. This book is an ideal companion to researchers and postgraduates in phytochemistry and natural product pharmacology, and mycologists.

This book is a comprehensive guide to many important fungal species with a focus on their phytochemistry, potential sources of bioactive compounds, known chemistry and toxicology.

Medicinal mushrooms have been used since ancient times. Certain mushrooms can be used to treat numerous conditions, including those related to cardiovascular health, obesity, cholesterol balance, bone health, diabetes, and cancer. Wild Mushrooms and Health: Diversity, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Benefits, and Cultivation presents reports on numerous species of wild medicinal mushrooms with discussion of drug-discovery implications, analysis of bioactive substances, and prospects for cultivation. FEATURES Comprehensive review of medicinal mushrooms as sources of promising bioactive molecules and prospective compounds for drug discovery Information on diversity, distribution, ethnomycology, ecology, cultivation, descriptions of specific species, and folk medicinal uses of mushrooms throughout the world Emphasis on identification, documentation, bioactive substances, and the nature of mushroom bioactivity Discussion of the nutraceutical properties of wild mushrooms, including high protein content comparable to that of meat, and low fat content, which make them a complete dietary food source Exploration of methods used in the collection, identification, documentation, cultivation, analysis, and conservation of mushrooms for drug discovery An installment in the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this volume is a comprehensive resource for medical researchers, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies. In addition, this resource is appropriate for mycologists and botanists interested in pharmacognosy.

There are around 1.5 million fungal species worldwide. Out of these around 14,000 species produce fruiting bodies known as mushrooms, and around 2000 species are edible, and only 270 are reported to be medicinal. The fungal kingdom is phylogenetically closer to humans than plants, so gives better health benefits to human systems. This book educates readers on the nutritional, pharmaceutical and medicinal values of different mushrooms and their utilization as nutraceuticals and functional foods for human security. It reviews the current knowledge on the distribution of edible mushrooms, its general characteristics, morphology, nutritional profile and properties, pharmacological importance, and biological activities. Health benefits of mushrooms, antioxidant and secondary metabolite profiling, major biological activities of mushroom-derived secondary metabolites, functional foods based on the mushrooms open doors for therapies, products with added value, toxicology, and side effects if any are also highlighted. The book is intended for a large and varied audience – researchers, scientists, and scholars in academia, mushroom growers and industries, nutritionists, dietitians, food scientists, clinicians, doctors, drug industries, pharmacy, biotechnologists, biochemists, botanists, mycologists, and general masses.

Our intention with this book was to present the reader with the most accurate, significant, and up-to-date background and knowledge in the areas of ethnomedicinal and nutraceutical vegetation for the Lesser Himalayas in a comprehensive text. Wild Edible Vegetables of Lesser Himalayas provides a complete review of over 50 important plants of this region and details each species including photographs, botanical name, local name, family, flowering and fruiting period, status and habitat, parts used, distribution, ethnobotanical uses, cultural aspects, medicinal uses, and nutraceutical aspects. Medicinal uses include mode of preparation, method of application and diseases studied; cultural aspects and index; nutraceutical data provides analysis of fats, proteins, fibers, carbohydrates, ash, moisture content, dry matter, and energy value; elemental analysis includes various essential and toxic metals; phytochemical screening includes total phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols and ascorbic acid, and antioxidant potential in terms of DPPH scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, H2O2 scavenging activity, Fe2+ chelating activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and phosphomolybdenum assay for each species. Wild Edible Vegetables of Lesser Himalayas is a concise and handy guide for scientists, scholars, and students interested in the study of agriculture, food science, nutraceutical science, bioscience, biodiversity, applied ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and ecology.

Research in recent years has increasingly shifted away from purely academic research, and into applied aspects of the discipline, including climate change research, conservation, and sustainable development. It has by now widely been recognized that “traditional” knowledge is always in flux and adapting to a quickly changing environment. Trends of globalization, especially the globalization of plant markets, have greatly influenced how plant resources are managed nowadays. While ethnobotanical studies are now available from many regions of the world, no comprehensive encyclopedic series focusing on the worlds mountain regions is available in the market. Scholars in plant sciences worldwide will be interested in this website and its dynamic content. The field (and thus the market) of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology has grown considerably in recent years. Student interest is on the rise, attendance at professional conferences has grown steadily, and the number of professionals calling themselves ethnobotanists has increased significantly (the various societies, like the Society for Economic Botany, the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, the Society of Ethnobiology, and the International Society for Ethnobiology currently have thousands of members). Growth has been most robust in BRIC countries. This new MRW on Ethnobotany of the Himalayas takes advantage of the increasing international interest and scholarship in the field of mountain research. It includes the best and latest research on a full range of descriptive, methodological, theoretical, and applied research on the most important plants in the Himalayas. Each contribution is scientifically rigorous and contributes to the overall field of study.

This volume comprehensively reviews recent advances in our understanding of the diversity of microbes in various types of terrestrial ecosystems, such as caves, deserts and cultivated fields. It is written by leading experts, and highlights the culturable microbes identified using conventional approaches, as well as non-culturable ones unveiled with metagenomic and microbiomic approaches. It discusses the role of microbes in ecosystem sustainability and their potential biotechnological applications. The book further discusses the diversity and utility of ectomycorrhizal and entomopathogenic fungi and yeasts that dwell on grapes, it examines the biotechnological applications of specific microbes such as lichens, xylan- and cellulose-saccharifying bacteria and archaea, chitinolytic bacteria, methanogenic archaea and pathogenic yeasts.