Understanding Extraction Ratios in Mycotherapy

In the world of medicinal mushroom products, it is common to find concentration references such as 4:1 and 15:1 on the labeling. However, despite their widespread use, few of us understand the importance of this reference. As a company with expertise in the mycotherapy field, we’ve put together this article to help you know.

On the packaging of many mycotherapy food supplements, the extraction ratio, also known as the concentration ratio, establishes a link between the quantity of raw material and the resulting extract. For example, a ratio of 15:1 translates to 15 grams of mushrooms needed to produce 1 gram of extract.

Laboratories often use extraction ratios as a selling point for their products. At first glance, a high extraction ratio implies a more concentrated extract, potentially richer in beneficial compounds than a product with a lower ratio. These ratios are also used to justify the price to the consumer because a product with a higher ratio logically implies a higher quantity of bioactive molecules, right? Not quite, we’ll explain.

Limits to the Extraction Ratio

Most consumers think that a higher concentration ratio means a more robust product, but this depends on several factors:

What Ratio Are We Talking About?

It is crucial to know the concentration ratio we are talking about. For some producers, the ratio corresponds to the quantity of fresh mushrooms compared to the amount of powder. For others, the starting point is the quantity of mushroom powder required to make an extract. In the first case, the mass of fresh mushrooms includes naturally occurring water, while in the second, it is excluded.

However, some mushrooms contain a significant amount of water. For example, drying or dehydration can remove up to 90% of the water from a mushroom-like Agaricus blazei, providing a ratio of 10:1 without going through the extraction process. The secondary metabolites remain trapped in the fungus's chitinous matrix without extraction, rendering these bioactive molecules non-bioavailable.

What Kind of Extraction Are We Talking About?

An extraction process is required to obtain a full extract from a mushroom. This can be done using either water or alcohol as the solvent or a combination of both. The choice of method depends on the specific mushroom and the polarity of the active compounds within it.

In mycotherapy, it is generally recommended to use a double extraction process, combining both water and alcohol (hydroalcoholic extraction), rather than a single extraction method. This approach is preferred because water extraction alone captures hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules like beta-glucans, while alcohol extraction can extract other compounds, such as triterpenes. Additionally, the solvents used during extraction are removed, ensuring the final product is safe for consumption.

Although double extraction can yield a larger quantity of powder, it may sometimes result in a lower concentration ratio than water extraction alone. However, this does not imply that water extraction is more potent. Double extraction is often more effective because it extracts a broader range of components.

One Solution: The Composition of Bioactive Molecules

In short, assessing the quality of a medicinal mushroom food supplement requires more than a simple ratio indicator.

To obtain meaningful information, it is essential to have a detailed breakdown of the bioactives on the label. Careful labeling analysis is crucial in line with our “golden rules” for recognizing a quality mycotherapy product. What counts is the number of bioactive molecules mentioned on the label, as well as the bioactive compounds specific to the mushroom, such as cordycepin from Cordyceps, inotodiol/betulin found in Chaga, and groan present in Maitake. To be exact, analytical tests on the bioactive compounds and purity measurements are necessary.

Care should also be taken when quantifying the concentration or percentage of non-specific active ingredients, such as polysaccharides. We prefer to specify fungal beta-glucans (1.3/1.6), which have been recognized scientifically for their immunomodulatory function.

Studies in the European and American markets have revealed serious shortcomings in traceability. The above process also protects the consumer against buying a counterfeit product.

Without a robust analysis of the specific bioactive molecules and the display of their concentrations on labeling, consumers have no guarantee that they are getting a mushroom-based product, let alone a mycotherapy product.