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Article history
Received: 21 May 2018
Received in revised form: 9 August 2018
Accepted: 16August 2018
Keywords
Wild edible mushrooms,
Cultivated edible
mushrooms,
Culinary mushrooms,
Medicinal mushrooms,
Nutritional and medicinal
properties
Abstract
Mushrooms have been consumed by mankind for millennia. In Malaysia, there are many species of edible mushrooms which are either cultivated (Agaricus spp., Auricularia spp., Pleurotus spp.) or harvested in the wild (Ganoderma spp., Polyporus spp., Termitomyces spp.). With the advancement of technology, numerous discoveries have been made that elucidated the nutritional (high in fibres, proteins, vitamins; low in fats, cholesterols, sodium) and medicinal (anti-oxidative, anti-hypertensive, neuritogenesis) properties of edible mushrooms, all of which are highly beneficial for the maintenance of human health and well-being. This review thus compiles and documents the available literatures on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia complete with scientific, English, and vernacular names for future references; provides a comprehensive and updated overview on the nutritional and medicinal properties edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia; and identifies the research gaps to promote further research and development on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia. Overall, Malaysia is and remains a natural repository for wild and cultivated edible mushrooms. Deeper investigation on their nutritional and medicinal properties will certainly serve as an impetus for economic as well as scientific progress.
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Introduction
Malaysia is a developing country located in Southeast Asia, and consists of Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Covering nearly 330 km2 landmass, Malaysia is ranked the 67th largest country by total land area. Of this, two-thirds are being covered in forest (Saw, 2007) with some of which are believed to be 130 million years old (Richmond et al., 2010). In 1998, Conservation International (www. conservation.org) has identified Malaysia as one of the 17 megadiverse countries which harbour the majority of the Earth's species of flora and fauna with high level of endemism (i.e., an ecological state whereby a species being unique to a defined geographic location and not found elsewhere). Malaysian ecosystems (e.g., forests, mountains, inland waters, marine and coastal, islands, agricultural) are home to a diverse array of species. According to the Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2007), a considerably high number of terrestrial fungal species which includes micro- and macrofungi and also lichen-forming species...