The Power of Ultrasound

In order to experience the remarkable health effects of medicinal fungi, compounds such as beta-glucans, triterpenoids, and other bioactive substances must first be released from the mushroom cells. This process is called extraction.  Extraction concentrates the beneficial compounds of the fungi and makes them more readily available to our bodies.

All edible mushrooms have cell walls made of chitin, the same material that  gives crustacean and insect shells their rigidity. Because humans cannot digest chitin, the bioactive molecules are locked inside the cells. In order to make these substances available to us, the cell walls must be broken down. 

Most mushroom supplement companies use heat, various solvents and time - from days to months- to soften the cell wall and release a portion of these important molecules. But It is hard to avoid tradeoffs when using typical extraction methods.  Alcohol extraction, for example, increases the availability of triterpenoids but decreases the availability of beta glucans. 

Fungi Valley uses ultrasonication, also called ultrasonic extraction,  to break down the mushroom cell walls and release  the bioactive compounds into liquid. Ultrasonication is a mild non-thermal technology that can be used by itself or in conjunction with other extraction methods. It creates high-frequency sound waves that in turn form tiny bubbles in liquid. When these bubbles collapse, they create shear forces that break down chitin in the  cell walls and release bioactive compounds into liquid. 

Extracts made by ultrasonication offer several advantages over those made by traditional extraction methods:

1. At any given temperature, ultrasonication yields more bioactive molecules than traditional methods, resulting in more concentrated extracts.
2. Ultrasonication can be performed at low temperatures, preserving certain molecules that
   would otherwise degrade in high heat.
3. Ultrasonication extracts both polar and non-polar molecules simultaneously, reducing or eliminating the need for harsh solvents like alcohol and avoiding trade-offs between which compounds to extract.
4. The extraction process takes minutes rather than days or months, resulting in fresher extracts.
5. Ultrasonic extraction makes bioactive compounds from mushrooms more bioavailable,
   so the body absorbs and utilizes the nutrients quickly and more effectively. The beneficial nutrients are concentrated so that even small amounts of the mushroom extract are bioactive.
6. Ultrasonication requires less energy and produces less waste than traditional
   extraction methods.

With ultrasonic extraction, we are able to produce fresh, natural, and potent mushroom extracts!