Navigating through the world of mushroom supplements can be a daunting task. With a plethora of information, and quite often misinformation, it’s challenging to discern what makes a good mushroom supplement. At Mogo Farm, our passion for mushrooms drives us to create the best possible mushroom tinctures and today we want to share some insights and clarify common misconceptions about mushroom supplements.
What are polysaccharides and why should we pay attention to them?
One of the most fascinating aspects of mushroom supplements is the presence of polysaccharides. These complex carbohydrate molecules are crucial components of mushroom extracts. We’ve created a video to visually demonstrate how polysaccharides become visible when water and alcohol extracts interact, creating a satisfying reaction. It is important to understand that a polysaccharide test alone isn’t sufficient to determine the potency of a mushroom supplement.
Polysaccharides are found in various natural sources, including grains, which are high in polysaccharides but lack the beneficial beta-glucan content crucial for a potent mushroom supplement. Beta-glucans are a specific type of polysaccharide known for their health benefits. Therefore, it’s essential to know the beta-glucan content in any mushroom supplement.
The science behind the benefits
To appreciate the full benefits of mushroom tinctures, it’s important to understand the science behind the dual extraction process. Water and alcohol are used to extract different beneficial compounds from mushrooms, each contributing uniquely to the tincture’s efficacy.
Water Extraction
Water extract polysaccharides and other water soluble compounds. These compounds play a vital role in the overall health benefits attributed to mushrooms.
Alcohol Extraction
Alcohol, on the other hand, extracts triterpenoids, sterols, and other alcohol-soluble compounds. Additionally, alcohol helps break down the chitin layer within the mushroom cell wall, allowing these compounds to be more readily available in the tincture.
When the water extract (containing dissolved polysaccharides and other water-soluble compounds) and alcohol extract (containing dissolved alcohol-soluble compounds) are combined, the solvent environment changes, causing polysaccharides to precipitate out of the solution, forming a suspension. We find this extremely visually and scientifically fascinating!
The precipitation results in visible clumps or a cloudy appearance in the liquid. This occurs because of the differing solubilities of various compounds in water and alcohol. The suspension may settle over time, with particles sinking to the bottom and therefore requiring shaking before use.
The importance of dual extraction
Combining both water and alcohol extracts captures a broad spectrum of beneficial compounds from mushrooms, leveraging the solubility properties of both solvents to obtain a more comprehensive extract. Hence why all tinctures at Mogo Farm have been dual extracted.
Dual extraction ensures that we harness the full potential of mushrooms, delivering potent and effective tinctures. By using both water and alcohol in the extraction process, we ensure that our tinctures contain a wide range of beneficial compounds, making them more effective than those extracted using only one solvent.
A good mushroom tincture
Understanding what makes a good mushroom tincture involves more than just recognising the presence of polysaccharides. It requires a deep dive into the extraction processes, the types of compounds extracted, and the overall quality control measures in place.
Quality control at Mogo Farm
At Mogo Farm we take pride in having full control over our processes, from cultivation to extraction all the way through to bottling and posting. Whether we grow our own mushrooms on the farm or source them from passionate UK mushroom growers, we maintain short supply chains and stringent quality controls. We ensure only the best quality mushrooms are used for our tinctures.
Each mushroom tincture is extracted at a 1:3 ratio (1 part mushroom to 3 parts liquid) with both alcohol and water. All our single strain tinctures contain 20,000mg of mushroom fruiting body within a 100ml tincture. This means there is 400mg of mushroom within each daily dose.
We believe in transparency and quality! Our dedication to these principles is reflected in every bottle of tincture we produce. Learn more about each of our mushroom tinctures here!
