Abstract
Objective: For centuries, mushrooms have been used for food and medicinal purposes all over the world, especially in the Far East. The rapid increase of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, obesity worldwide and and increases in the costs of treatment and care of these diseases have increased the interest in alternative treatment methods among both researchers and the public.
Result and Discussion: In vitro, in vivo and clinical studies have proven the accuracy of many centuries-old traditional uses of mushrooms, especially species such as Pleurotus spp., Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma lucidum, Grifolia frondosa. Moreover, the studies show that that the main bioactive compounds derived from mushrooms have great potential in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In this article, current in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies related to antitumor, antioxidant, antimicrobial, cholesterol lowering and blood sugar regulating properities of mushrooms were reviewed in order to evaluate the potentials in the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.