Development of an innovative method of growing Japanese scleractinian (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus) mushrooms using hemp straw as a substrate, and development of technology for the production of medicinal mushroom extracts

Project title: Development of an innovative method of cultivating Japanese scleractinian (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus) mushrooms using hemp straw as a substrate, and development of technology for the production of medicinal mushroom extracts containing the full spectrum of active compounds.

The goal is to develop an innovative method for the production and processing of Japanese scleractinian (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus) medicinal mushrooms.

The project will develop a technology for year-round cultivation of the above-mentioned species using hemp straw as a substrate, as well as a technology for dual extraction of medicinal mushrooms, which will be the basis for the production of extracts containing the maximum amount of biologically active compounds.

The key results in the project will be the following innovations:

• innovative technology for the cultivation of Japanese scleractinian (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus) mushrooms using hemp straw as a substrate, as well as the use of a ground heat exchanger as a solution to help maintain optimal climatic conditions for the crops being grown and to ensure adequate air purity,
• innovative dual medicinal mushroom extraction technology used to produce extracts of L. edodes and H. erinaceus containing the full range of active compounds,
• extracts of coneflower standardized for erinacin A and extracts of Japanese scleractin standardized for ergothionein and lowastatin, produced from mushrooms grown in Poland.

Project activities

Specific objectives are:

• construction of a production hall to enable mushroom cultivation with installations,
• the development of technology for growing mushrooms on hemp ground,
• development of assumptions for the dual extraction of medicinal fungi of the species soplata coneflower and Japanese sclerotia and its verification (repeatability of processes on an enlarged scale),
• production of standardized extracts of medicinal mushrooms of Japanese sclerotia (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus).

The main benefits of the project

• The cultivation technology developed as part of the project will be able to be implemented for other medicinal mushroom species currently uncultivated in Poland.
• Cultivation of exotic medicinal mushrooms will help shorten the supply chain, develop cultivation technologies.
• The implementation of the project will allow to fill the market niche of the lack of medicinal mushroom extracts produced on the basis of material of domestic origin, meeting all standards related to quality and food safety, as well as containing the full range of bioactive compounds, the control of which begins at the stage of cultivation of the raw material.
• The vast majority of medicinal mushroom extracts are produced in China or based on raw material from Asian countries.

Practice summary

The goal is to develop an innovative method for the production and processing of Japanese scleractinian (Lentinula edodes) and coneflower (Hericium erinaceus) medicinal mushrooms.

The project will develop a technology for year-round cultivation of the above-mentioned species using hemp straw as a substrate, as well as a technology for dual extraction of medicinal mushrooms, which will be the basis for the production of extracts containing the maximum amount of biologically active compounds.