🦚 Turkey Tail + Inulin, Greener Grow Bags, and Dye Cleanup

IN TODAY’S EDITION

• 🧠 | Jumpstart memory

• 💗 | Suicide risk reduced

• ❄️ | Frozen porcini safety

Hi Shroomers. As autumn settles, I hope y’all are chasing the rains and finding new delights amongst the leaf litter. This week, we have the standard topics and I’m relaunching our interview spotlight.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Inulin addition 🦚 Turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor) were microencapsulated with inulin, a natural prebiotic fiber, creating powders with stronger antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activity. The process improved stability and bioavailability, with compounds effectively released during digestion to inhibit enzymes like COX-1 and COX-2 and suppress colon cancer cell growth. This combo highlights a promising way to design functional mushroom supplements with greater potency and gut health synergy.

Deep dive 🔬 Researchers mapped out how the complex sugars in lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) actually work in the body, from boosting immunity to protecting the brain. These polysaccharides help regulate inflammation, enhance antioxidant defenses, and even support gut microbiota. Advanced extraction and purification methods revealed their structural diversity, explaining why they can target multiple pathways at once.

Culinary power 🔪 Porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) aren’t just a gourmet favorite, they’re packed with compounds that fight obesity and diabetes. Extracts blocked enzymes like lipase and α-amylase, which break down fats and carbs, helping to regulate weight and blood sugar.

Jumpstart memory 🧠 Chaga mushrooms (Inonotus obliquus) contain eight lanostane-type triterpenoids, with one compound showing the strongest brain benefits. In cell models, it cut inflammation by lowering nitric oxide and dialing down pro-inflammatory signals like COX-2, iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. In memory-impaired mice, the same compound improved learning and suppressed harmful inflammation while protecting growth factors NGF and BDNF, which are crucial for brain health.

PSILOCYBIN & LEGISLATION 

Hormones and psychedelics 🌙 Female hormones like estrogen and progesterone directly influence how psychedelics such as psilocybin work in the body. Estrogen boosts serotonin activity and receptor density, which can heighten the intensity of a trip during high-estrogen phases, while progesterone may dampen effects through calming GABA pathways. Women often report more emotionally intense experiences, with stronger breakthroughs and catharsis, compared to men. The review also highlights potential benefits for menopausal health, where psychedelics may ease mood swings, depression, and brain fog by supporting neuroplasticity and serotonin balance.

Suicide risk reduced 💗 A meta-analysis of 9 clinical trials (593 patients) found psilocybin therapy led to a small but significant reduction in suicidal thoughts compared to control groups (SMD = −0.24). No suicide attempts or deaths were reported across studies. The benefit appeared consistent regardless of diagnosis, though most trials were short-term and excluded people with severe baseline suicidality. These findings suggest psilocybin may offer a valuable new tool for reducing suicide risk in psychiatric populations.

Fear unlearned 🧩 Psilocybin helped mice unlearn conditioned fear responses across all stress states—naïve, acute, and chronic. It reduced freezing behavior during fear recall and improved extinction learning, even when stress normally impaired flexibility.

ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION

Soil revival 🌲 Adding spent mushroom substrate (SMS) with a mix of beneficial microbes to degraded soils transformed their quality and boosted pine seedling growth. The treatment improved soil porosity, pH, and nutrient levels (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), while enriching helpful microbes. Seedlings grew taller, had thicker stems, and more chlorophyll compared to controls.

Toxin cleanup 🧪 Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) produce a powerful enzyme called laccase that can break down synthetic dyes used in textiles and other industries. In lab tests, crude laccase removed over 90% of dyes like Alpha-naphthol Orange and Methyl Green within 24 hours, and even detoxified mixtures of dyes that are normally very harmful. After treatment, seeds exposed to dye-polluted water grew normally, showing the enzyme eliminated toxicity.

African mushroom power 🌍 This review highlights how indigenous African mushrooms could play a vital role in food security and preventative health. They provide protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, with species like Pleurotus tuber-regium and Termitomyces long used in traditional medicine for ailments ranging from stomach pain to infections. Despite over 480 species identified, scientific research is still limited, and the paper calls for more studies, sustainable cultivation, and integration into healthcare systems to unlock their full potential.

Greener grow bags ♻️ Scientists developed biodegradable substrate bags for mushroom farming using PHA, a plant-based bioplastic made from waste cooking oil. When tested with oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), the bags held up during cultivation but naturally broke down afterward, thanks to soil microbes like Acidovorax and Schlegella. This innovation could replace conventional plastic bags, cutting down on agricultural waste and advancing more sustainable, circular mushroom cultivation.

GROWING & GOURTMET

Vitamin D corn 🌽 Scientists used king oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) and lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus), plus UV-B light to supercharge corn flour with vitamin D₂. Levels jumped to nearly 19 µg/100 g, alongside big boosts in antioxidants, amino acids, and bioactive peptides. The process also improved texture, with better water absorption and solubility, making this a sustainable way to turn everyday foods into nutrient-rich functional ingredients.

Frozen porcini safety ❄️ Freezing wild porcini (Boletus edulis) at −20 °C for five months lowered the levels of toxic metals absorbed from contaminated soils. Nickel dropped the most (−70%), followed by iron (−40%) and mercury (−36%), while reductions in lead, cadmium, and other elements were smaller. Lithium showed no meaningful change. The findings suggest freezing can selectively reduce heavy metal risks in foraged porcini, adding nuance for safety-conscious mushroom hunters.

INTERVIEW ARCHIVE SPOTLIGHT

Over the past three years, we’ve had the joy of interviewing some truly remarkable people: artists, mycologists, activists, and everyday folks who live and breathe fungi. These conversations have stuck with us, and instead of letting them gather dust, I wanted to bring them back into the light.

Each week, I’ll reshare one of these interviews in this new spotlight, so whether you’re new here or have been reading since the early days, you’ll get a chance to (re)discover stories that deepen our connection to nature, creativity, and community.

Connecting with Nature Through Art: An Interview with Paper Botanical Artist Ann Wood

This week, we’re revisiting a beautiful conversation between writer Vivian K. and Ann Wood, a botanical artist who began sculpting mushrooms and plants from paper after a major life transition. What began in her backyard garden and on Instagram has since evolved into a museum-worthy body of work and a global following.

👉 Read the full interview here.

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