Open AccessVitamin D in edible mushrooms: biosynthesis, contents, bioavailability, and nutritional significance
Author(s) -
Zdzisław Kochan,
Katarzyna Jędrzejewska,
Joanna Karbowska
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
postępy higieny i medycyny doświadczalnej
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.275
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1732-2693
pISSN - 0032-5449
DOI - 10.5604/01.3001.0013.6282
Subject(s) - ergocalciferol , vitamin d and neurology , bioavailability , chemistry , vitamin , endocrinology , medicine , ergosterol , cholecalciferol , food science , biology , biochemistry , pharmacology
Edible mushrooms exposed to sunlight or UV irradiation convert ergosterol to ergocalciferol (vitamin D 2 ), which is well absorbed and has a similar bioavailability to vitamin D 3 . Consumption of vitamin D 2 – enhanced mushrooms significantly increases circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D 2 that is further metabolized to the biologically active form – 1,25(OH) 2 D 2 . Dietary supplementation with UV-irradiated mushrooms has been shown to lower parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations in the blood and to increase bone mineral density, to suppress an immune response, to decrease circulating plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) levels, as well as to improve cognitive performance in dementia syndromes. Current evidence indicates that more than half of the world’s population is vitamin D deficient, mushrooms enriched with ergocalciferol may therefore prove useful as a natural dietary source of this vitamin – incorporating them into the diet can help meet the body’s daily requirement and restore vitamin D status.