Wild and cultivated mushrooms as food, pharmaceutical and industrial products

Introduction. Mushrooms have been consumed since earliest times and have been recognized for their attractive sensory and culinary attributes; besides, they contain high amounts of bioactive and health -promoting compounds. This review is devoted to wild edible mushrooms and their role in the life of modern man. Materials and methods. Literature research using scientific publications on the topics related to wild mushrooms as a food resource, their applications in medicine and pharmaceuticals, as well as the methods for mushroom cultivation was conducted. Results and discussion. Wild edible mushrooms have high nutritional value, contain high -quality proteins, fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins, including D2, microelements, as well as valuable compounds such as polyphenols, terpenoids, sterols, while having a low energy value, which makes it possible to use them in cooking and in low -calorie diets. Wild edible mushrooms have various specific pharmaceutical properties that can be used in the treatment of various serious diseases. The gathering and use of wild edible mushrooms for food make a significant contribution to both the solution of the global food shortage crisis and economics of different countries around the world, and could be considered in some countries as new sources of income for local people. The increase of interest on mushroom consumption along human history at worldwide level has led to the development of basic and sophisticated techniques for their cultivation. Solid-state and submerged liquid fermentations are nowadays useful methods for cultivation of mushroom in a large-scale for production of volumes of biomass and of valuable specific bioactive metabolites. An interesting and unusual method to grow edible mushrooms of Ustilago maydis , which are considered a delicacy produced by the natural infection of the maize ears, is described. Conclusions. The role that the mushroom kingdom plays in human life is extremely important and varied. In the near future, their role in local economies around the world and as raw materials for food and pharmaceutical products, including industrial cultivation, will be areas of greatest use.