Milky mushroom: A healthy nutritious diet

Milky mushroom includes a group of macrofungi traditionally known for nutritional and medicinal properties. They are among the easiest and cheapest cultivable mushrooms in tropical regions. Thus, interest in this group of mushrooms has grown both commercially and medicinally over the years. This review critically discusses different aspects of milky mushroom based on their nutritive values and biological activities and also envisages the challenges which need holistic approaches to formulate functional compounds from these mushrooms. In the last 30 years, various health-promoting properties, as well as domestication techniques of milky mushrooms, have been documented by scientific forums. Besides, several bioactive compounds have been purified among which only a few have been studied in brief. Some unique activities also have been observed like fibrinolytic activity, synergism with standard antibiotics, antiobesity effects, antiaging, and others; however, the study on its active components and structure-activity relationship is an important requirement. An integrated approach from both the nutritional and medical field needs to be adopted for proper utilization of this mushroom as functional food, thus this review will contribute greatly to fill the lacuna in knowledge and unleashing the significance of these milky mushroom; Calocybe indica, Macrocybe gigantea, Macrocybe crassa and Macrocybe lobayensis in the pharmaceutical field.

Automated summary

This review critically discusses the nutritive values, biological activities, and challenges of milky mushrooms, emphasizing the importance of adopting an integrated approach for functional food development.