Mycology is the science of mushrooms
Mycology is the study of mushrooms with one area of study: mushroom nutrition.
Until recently, the leaders in mushroom nutrition have been found in Japan, Korea or China. Mushroom nutrition has been an offshoot of the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
In TCM formulas, one or two of the fifteen to twenty ingredients were usually a mushroom. Therefore the practitioners who are most capable in working with mushroom nutrition have been TCM practitioners. (Unfortunately, with the increasing difficulty in sourcing TCM herbs, the study of TCM herbal formulas is increasingly difficult).
As previously stated, the majority of the clinical information on mushroom nutrition has been conducted in Japan, Korea and China. Only recently have European clinical trials been conducted to reconfirm the immune enhancing attributes of mushroom nutrition in non-Asian populations.
When working with mushroom nutrition it is extremely important to reconfirm quality control standards in cultivation and in specification since during the cultivation process, mushrooms emit enzymes and reabsorb the enzymes thereby indirectly, absorbing all metals, bacteria and chemicals in the area of cultivation. Therefore there are two areas of concern in the cultivation process:
- Is the substrate clean? Mushrooms from some countries have been found to have high contents of either E-Coli (human waste used to fertilize) or heavy metals are present (over use of pesticides). Hence contamination in the raw material is an issue.
- Is the mushroom properly labeled? i.e. when Cordyceps militarias is marketed as Cordyceps sinensis.
Mycology Research Laboratories Ltd. (MRL) and MRL-USA market mushroom nutrition products that combine proprietary technology for contaminate-free cultivation to EU organic standards (conducted in California). All MRL products are manufactured to food grade GMP standards (HACCP standards) in either the United States or the Netherlands.