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Oxidation-reduction reactions go on
continually in your body. Free radicals are chemicals that will
oxidize molecules, damaging cells. They have been implicated in
damaging the immune system and also are implicated in the development of
some cancers. Anti-oxidants are involved in neutralizing these free
radicals.
Selenium is involved directly in the
protection of cell walls from oxidation by free radicals. The enzyme
glutathione peroxidase contains four selenium groups that catalyze the
breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, thereby protecting cell walls from
peroxidation. Monterey Mushrooms research group was a partner in a
study with Penn State University in which mushrooms were sampled from 9
different growing regions of the country and tested for levels of selenium,
as well as other minerals. That study determined, at a minimum
mushrooms are a good source of selenium. Selenium is in the raw
materials used to make the compost for mushroom production. In the
mid-west levels of selenium tested highest in the nation. Product from
the MMI farm in Illinois proved to be an excellent source of selenium.
For more information you can read the article published in the Mushroom News
below.
Mushrooms also have loads of the anti-oxidant
ergothioneine. Recent research by PhD candidate Joy Dubost, done at
Penn State University with Dr. Robert Beelman and Dr. Devin S. Peterson,
quantified the amounts of ergothioneine found in various mushrooms.
The common button mushroom contains four times the concentration of
ergothioneine found in chicken liver and 12 times the concentration found in
wheat germ. Chicken livers and wheat germ had been considered the best
sources of ergothioneine. Shiitake mushrooms have even more
ergothioneine than do the button or portabella mushroom.
The button mushroom, including the brown,
portabella, and white, is the king of another group of anti-oxidants called
polyphenols. Tocopherol, flavanoids, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid
are examples of polyphenolic anti-oxidants. Dubost’s research
demonstrated that the button mushrooms contain far greater quantities of
these powerful anti-oxidants than do the other types of mushrooms tested
like shiitake and oyster. And again mushrooms compare favorably with
these types of anti-oxidants when compared with what had been thought to be
the best sources.
Click here for a comprehensive chart of mushroom
nutrients.
You can read more about this research by accessing the paper below
Identification and Quantification of Ergothioneine in Cultivated Mushrooms
by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. You can also view more
information specifically about polyphenol anti-oxidants in the article
below.
Plant Polyphenols Exhibit Lipoprotein-Bound
Antioxidant Activity
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