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Current Research on Medicinal Mushrooms in Italy

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Abstract

Historical data and current research in Italy reveal the permanent interest of people and scientists toward the importance of fungi as functional food and medicine. This chapter reports the main studies on medicinal mushrooms carried out by Italian researchers on the antibacterial activity, the characterization of β-glucans content, antitumor activity, Alzheimer’s disease, characterization of bioactive compounds, antimicrobial activity, dietary supplementation, chemical contents, and animal health. Currently, in vitro experiments are prevalent with respect to clinical trials on human and animals.

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Abbreviations

FMG:

Fungus myceliated grains

HPV:

Human papillomavirus

LXA4:

Lipoxin A4

MBC:

Minimal bactericidal concentrations

MIC:

Minimum inhibitory concentrations

MOP:

Mycotherapic plus homeopathic (thymic hormones) and a probiotics

PCA:

Androgen-independent human prostate cancer

SAF:

Agricultural and Forest Sciences

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Author notes

  1. Authors Giuseppe Venturella, Paola Saporita and Maria Letizia Gargano have been equally contributed to this chapter.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Giuseppe Venturella & Paola Saporita

  2. Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Maria Letizia Gargano

Authors
  1. Giuseppe Venturella
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  2. Paola Saporita
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  3. Maria Letizia Gargano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giuseppe Venturella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan

    Dinesh Chandra Agrawal

  2. Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran

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Venturella, G., Saporita, P., Gargano, M.L. (2019). Current Research on Medicinal Mushrooms in Italy. In: Agrawal, D., Dhanasekaran, M. (eds) Medicinal Mushrooms. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6382-5_12

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