Shimeji mushroom benefits and side effects

Shimeji mushroom health benefits help in managing diabetes, weight & cholesterol. Rich in calcium, and potassium. There are no side effects of this mushroom except handling and storage errors.

Name: Shimeji Mushroom

Botanical name: Hypsizygus marmoreus or Hypsizygus tessulatus

Family: Tricholomataceae

Other common names: Bunashimeji (brown color), Shimeji, Hon-shimeji, White beech mushroom,  Seafood mushroom, Bunapi shimeji (white color)

Popular in: North Europe, and East Asia, such as China, Japan, and Korea

The taste of this mushroom is bitter when eaten raw but after cooking the bitterness disappears and gives a delicious sweet flavor with a crunchy texture.  White beech mushrooms can be grown on stumps of beech, maple, and blighted trees (1).

Nutritional value of Shimeji mushrooms

Shimeji mushrooms are highly nutritious with a desirable taste and offer promising food for improving human health and preventing diseases. The nutritional value of  Hypsizygus marmoreus mushroom is as follows (2)

Shimeji mushroom health benefits

Shimeji mushroom is an industrialized culinary, medicinal mushroom known for its high therapeutic value with significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, anti-atherosclerotic, antihypertensive, anti-aging, and cholesterol-lowering properties (3).

1. Nutrients Shimeji mushroom

This mushroom contains a high amount of nutrients like polysaccharides as active compounds. Other nutrients like protein, fiber, energy, and low-fat content which is beneficial for those having non-communicable diseases. 

It also contains potassium and phosphorus followed by magnesium, zinc, and copper. 

Other than this it is also a rich source of ergosterol steroids, provitamin D2, riboflavin, biotin, and niacin.

Why should we eat Shimeji mushroom?

2. Shimeji mushrooms low in cholesterol

Shimeji mushrooms contain dietary fiber which enhances the fecal excretion of bile acids and lowers insulin response. Therefore, mushroom powders not only have the potential to reduce serum total cholesterol concentrations but also atherosclerotic lesion formation than other mushrooms such as Eringi and Maitake mushrooms (4). 

3. May prevent parasitic infection

Shimeji mushrooms contain protease enzymes that possess a nematicidal effect on Panagrellus redivivus and bovine infective larvae which affect plants, animals, and humans and protect them from parasitic diseases (5).

4. Shimeji mushroom is a potential natural anticancer agent

Shimeji mushrooms are rich in glycoprotein (HM-3A), marmorin, beta-(1-3)-glucan,  hypsiziprenol, and hypsin. These compounds inhibit the proliferation of various cancer cells such as leukemia, hepatoma, breast, sarcoma, and lung carcinoma cells (6). Thus, Shimeji mushroom caps are a potential good natural source of anticancer agents (7).

5. Possible antifungal property of Shimeji mushrooms because of Hypsin compound

Hypsin (ribosome-inactivating protein) present in mushroom possess antifungal activity against various pathogenic fungi such as Physalospora piricola, Fusarium oxysporum, Mycospharella arachidicola and Botrytis cinerea(8).

6. Shimeji mushrooms may lower Hypertension

Shimeji mushrooms contain angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor which is oligopeptide that may help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke in persons having hypertension (9).

7. Possible anti-inflammatory properties of Shimeji mushrooms

Shimeji mushrooms are rich in polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. Thus inhibits inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress and protects from lung failure.  Therefore, Shimeji mushrooms may be useful for amending inflammatory responses and acting as a natural drug against lung failure in the future (10).

8. Anti-bacterial Shimeji mushrooms

Shimeji mushroom is a rich source of phenolic and flavonoid content that is beneficial for protecting against various bacteria such as Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus (11,12).

9. Shimeji mushrooms are rich in antioxidants

Phenol, steroids, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid found in the mushroom are biologically active components that prevent oxidative stress-mediated disease through radical scavenging activity (13).

10. Management of diabetes and weight

This mushroom contains hypsiziprenol, hypsin, polysaccharides, and dietary polyphenols, such as resveratrol. It helps in the reduction of fat deposition without affecting body weight loss by activating obesity-related genes that are responsible for oxidation and lipolysis. Furthermore, the intake of this mushroom lowers the fasting plasma insulin, and plasma glucose, modulates glycemic index, and increases the antioxidant contents thus regulating both obesity and insulin resistance (14).

Shimeji Mushrooms Recipes 

Side effects of Shimeji mushrooms

Shimeji mushrooms have no side effects because practically No clinical study has been reported so far. However, the Shimeji mushroom deteriorates rapidly after harvest due to water loss, browning, softening, stipe elongation and hollowing, pileus expansion, and splitting, and the appearance of unsightly aerial hyphae on the pile surface during refrigeration, all of which greatly reduce consumer acceptability (15).