Our partner and supplier of raw materials:

The company Biofungi GmbH supplies organic mushroom extracts and powders of the highest possible quality. We purchase these products exclusively from a bio certified and family owned company in China with 20 years of experience in mushroom cultivation and mushroom extraction. Our Chinese supplier, a biologist, takes good care of the quality control.

Currently this supplier is investing in a modern extraction factory implementing the highest level of extraction technology available. This factory will start operating beginning of 2015. Its sole purpose is the production of mushroom extracts.

The total investment sum is more than 4 million Euro. After completion this facility will the most sophisticated extraction factory in Southern China.

Our customers will share the benefits of this investment by obtaining mushrooms extracts of superior quality with gentle extraction methods at an outstanding level of hygiene.

The Chinese extraction company itself is certified HACCP, ISO 22000:2005 and ISO 9001:2008. The compliance with the organic regulations is guaranteed by the German organic certifier BCS. BCS is accredited in the EU.

Our laboratory:

We continuously analyse all imported mushroom extract and powder lots for pesticides, microbiology and heavy metals such as Cadmium, Lead and Quicksilver in an EU accredited laboratory – the GBA in Hamburg Germany.Link to GBA Hamburg

Our products:

  • Organic and conventional Mushroom Powders and Mushroom Extracts in bulk units of 5, 2 and 1kg
  • Organic Mushroom Extracts in Vegetarian Capsules size 0 in bulk units of 2000 pieces.
  • PE bottles filled with capsules according to our customers request.

Our customers:

As wholesaler we are not serving orders below 500,00 Euros. We apologize for this. However if you want to obtain our products in smaller quantities you may contact us and we will forward your request to our distributors.

 

Our products:
Reishi/
Ganoderma lucidum/Ling Zhi
Extract 10+4%, Extract 30% and powder
Organic / conventional
Caterpillar Mushroom/
Cordyceps sinensis CS-4 strain
Extract 30% and powders
Conventional
Cordyceps militaris
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Hen of Woods/
Grifola frondosa
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Shiitake/
Lentinula edodes
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Pom Pom/
Hericium erinaceus
Extract 20% and powders
Organic / conventional
Almond Mushroom/
Agaricus brasiliensis (blazei)
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Turkey Tail/
Coriolus versicolor
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Polypore Mushroom/
Polyporus umbellatus
Extract 30% and powders
Conventional
Jews Ear/
Auricularia judae
Extract 25% and powders
Organic / conventional
Ink Cap/
Coprinus comatus
Extract 25% and powders
Organic / conventional
Phellinus linteus
Extract 25%
Organic / conventional
White Cloud Mushroom/
Tremella fuciformis
Extract 25%
Organic / conventional
Oyster Mushroom/
Pleurotus ostreatus
Extract 30% and powders
Organic
Button Mushroom/
Agaricus bisporus
Extract 30% and powders
Organic / conventional
Chaga/
Inonotus obliquus
Extract 25%
Organic / conventional
Tinder Mushroom/
Fomes fomentarius
Extract 25%
Organic / conventional

 

Our features:

  • We provide high quality organic and conventional mushroom products from a certified and experienced producer in China.
  • We ensure continuous quality testing and quality assurance through analysis in our German laboratory.
  • We are able to offer you favourable prices through lean company structures, reasonable margins and purchases directly from the producer.
  • Our mushroom extracts are produced in a modern and sophisticated facility strictly supervised according to European organic standards. The basic material for the extracts are fruitbodies. The method of extraction consists in a hot water extraction of the dried fruit bodies for several hours, centrifugation, precipitation, spray drying and packing under sterile conditions.
  • An exception here is the Cordyceps sinensis extract which is produced out of the mycelium instead of fruitbodies. The mycelium itself is cultivated under sterile and controlled conditions in liquid fermenter cultures.
  • The encapsulation of our extracts and the filling of bottles is done by our certified organic German contract manufacturer.
  • We solely use vegetarian capsules HPMC size 0.

We consider ourselves a leading company in Europe in respect to organic mushroom extracts and powders for the nutriceutical industry. Having specialized in these products for many years we are experts with a solid scientific background and well connected with Universities and research centers.

Our goal is to propagate the knowledge about the benefits of mushrooms and to assist our clients in product development and the legislation aspects.

Free pictures:

Since many of our customers face the problem that they need pictures for their own labels we have created a series of mushroom pictures showing fruitbody, extract powder and capsules on a straw mat.

These pictures are provided for free upon request.

2 samples are shown below :

 
Ganoderma lucidum / Reishi   Coriolus versicolor / Turkey Tail

 

Background information and interesting facts on Mushroom Extracts and Powders:

1) Mushrooms Powders versus Mushroom Extracts

The mushroom community is split in two parties- namely the Powder community and the Extract community- both of which claim to be selling the better product.

This fight is often fought with all means. In order to prove their respective point of view wishful thinking and personal opinions are sometimes presented as facts and scientific findings. This muddle leaves many customers confused and insecure.

In the following we try to shed some light over these matters. We will try to maintain an objective and scientific view. We are not biased for commercial reasons as we sell both extracts and powders.

Mushroom powders:

Plus:

  • The complete roughage and valuable contents such as vitamins and minerals remain unchanged in the Mushroom Powders provided that the mushrooms are dried at 50°C or lower.

Minus:

  • The pesticides remain in the original concentration as well. For this reason organic Mushroom Powders should be prefered over conventional ones.
  • The daily recommended dosage for Mushroom Powders is 5-10g and more. A 0 size capsule takes around 0,5g- which results in swallowing 10-20 capsules a day! A very unrealistic proposition and an expensive one as well! A cheaper way to consume Mushroom Powders is to eat them by the spoonful or to use them in cooking - however a not insignificant number of Mushroom Powders display a rather mediocre taste. An alternative is the use of tablets which are cheaper to produce and contain up to 1,5g- however you should be aware that 20-40% of the tablet weight will be auxiliaries!
  • Many bioactive molecules such as the Beta Glucans are incorporated in the chitinous mushroom cell wall matrix which is indigestible. Even though the Mushroom Powders seem to be very fine dust to the naked eye, in the minute microscopic world these Mushroom Powder particles are huge chunks with a surface area and an interior volume. There remains an aspect of uncertainity about the percentage of bioactive molecules which can be solved out of the cell wall matrix by the digestive system.
  • If you want to use Mushroom Powders make sure that they are produced from fruit bodies or pure Mycelium- some companies sell Mushroom Powder produced from grain substrate blocks. Such a Mushroom Powders contain around 70% dried grains and are therefore well diluted in their effectivness!
  • Since most clinical studies use Mushroom Extracts their benefits stand on a solid scientific base. This is not the case with Mushroom Powders.

Mushroom Extracts

Plus:

  • The valuable contents of the cell wall matrix such as the Beta Glucans are concentrated manyfold in the extracts (4-15 times as shown in table below!). Through the process of cooking these contents are solved out of the Cell wall matrix and become bioavailable.
  • The pesticide load is reduced considerably through the process of extraction. For this reason and because the daily dosage of extracts is 4-15 fold lower than of powders the use of both conventional and organic Mushroom Extracts can be recommended.
  • Since most clinical studies used Mushroom Extracts and not Mushroom Powders the benefits of the Extracts but not of the Powders have been clinicaly proven.
  • The traditional TCM way of preparing mushrooms is tea-a kind of natural extract!

Minus:

  • The complete roughage and some Vitamins and Minerals are lost in the process of extraction.

Caution: Because of the extraction ratio Mushroom Powders should be considerably cheaper than Mushroom Extracts! Mushroom powders in bulk ought to cost around 15-25% only of the corresponding extracts! The price difference in Mushroom powders in capsules or tablets compared to bulk prices is smaller because the cost of encapsulation is the same for powders and extracts.


Table of the ratios of Mushroom Powders to Mushroom Extracts:

Mushroom species:

% Polysaccharides:

Ratio Powder to Extract:

Ganoderma lucidum/
Reishi

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 15kg Powder

Ganoderma lucidum/
Reishi

10+4% (Triterpene!)

1kg Extract corresponds to 15kg Powder

Fomes fomentarius

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 15kg Powder

Auricularia judae

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 12kg Powder

Phellinus linteus

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 12kg Powder

Lentinus edodes/
Shiitake

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 8kg Powder

Grifola frondosa/
Maitake

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 8kg Powder

Tremella fuciformis

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 8kg Powder

Coriolus versicolor

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 8kg Powder

Inonotus obliquus

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 8kg Powder

Agaricus bisporus

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 7kg Powder

Hericium erinaceus

20%

1kg Extract corresponds to 7kg Powder

Polyporus umbellatus

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 6kg Powder

Cordyceps sinensis

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 6kg Powder

Cordyceps militaris

30%

1kg Extrakt corresponds to 6kg Powder

Coprinus comatus

25%

1kg Extract corresponds to 6kg Powder

Agaricus brasiliensis

30%

1kg Extract corresponds to 4kg Powder


2) Polysaccharides and Beta Glucans and how to test the quality of Mushroom Extracts

The Beta Glucans are a subgroup of the Polysaccharides. They are incorporated in the cell wall matrix and can be solved out of this matrix through cooking to make them readily available for uptake by the digestive system.

The concentration of Mushroom Extracts is declared usually by the percentage of Polysaccharides contained.

Therefore a Shiitake 30% extract contains 30% Polysaccharides or more. This looks like a good way to verify the quality of the Mushroom Extract since Polysaccharides can be analysed easily.

Unfortunately this is not true for 2 reasons:

1) Since the Beat Glucans are a subgroup of the Polysaccharides the measured Polysaccharides do not represent the Beta Glucan content.

2) Mushroom Extracts can be adulterated by adding pure Polysaccharide substances - such as Amylum.

Moreover the Polysaccharides consist of both water soluble and water insoluble Polysaccharides.
Fact is that the water insoluble Polysaccharides are of no value for the body other than being roughage since they can not be digested! Only the water soluble Polysaccharides enter the body and interact with the Immunsystem!

If the Mushrooms are extracted with enzymes instead of hot water, then both water soluble and water insoluble Polysaccharides are extracted - which increases the profit of the producer since he gets out more extract quantity! The consumer however will buy an extract of inferior quality.

Testing at home:
A simple kitchen test enables you to judge if your Mushroom Extract belongs to the wanted group of water soluble or unwanted water insoluble.

Fill some hot water in a glas, add some of the extract to be tested and stir thoroughly. An unsoluble sediment shows you the presence and proportion of water insoluble Polysaccharides.

Test: A water soluble extract dissolves completely in hot water!

Scientific analytical methods:

Testing for Polysaccharides: Sulfuric Acid Anthrone method

Testing for specific Beta Glucans (such as Lentinan or Maitake D-fraction!):
HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography)

Testing for Beta Glucans with specific linkages (1-3, 1-4, 1-6 linkages):
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy)

Conclusion: Currently there is no laboratory known to me which offers a reliable test assay for determing the concentration of specific Beta Glucans of the branching type 1-3 and 1-6 in mushroom extracts. This basically means that there is no testing system available to analyse the quality of the extracts.

This breakes it down to a matter of confidence and of personal experience with the administered extracts. If the consumer gains an advantage out of an administered mushroom extract then this is a good mushroom extract!

If not it leaves 2 possibilities:
Eigther the quality of the used extract was not a good one or the comsumer used a good extract which did not show the desired effect because it was the wrong extract or because the consumer did not react to the mushroom extract.

In order to assure best qualities it is the importers responsibility to verify the following issues by on spot inspections:

1) Quality of the raw material

2) Quality of the equipment

3) Extraction ratio

3) Addition of Vitamin C to Mushroom Extracts
The addition of Vitamin C to Mushroom extracts is recommended in the literature for the following reason:
The valuable water solvent Beta Glucans with 1-3/1-6 linkages are big molecules and it seems that Vitamin C facilitates the resorption of big molecules through the cell walls of the digestive tract.

4) Reishi Spore Powder
Some companies praise the value of Reishi Spore Powder. We have no opinion or knowledge if this is justified. However if you buy Reishi Spore Powder you ought to make sure by Microscope that the Spores have been broken in a mill (Trade denomination: Broken Reishi Spore Powder!). Since the Reishi Spores are extremly hard shelled they are indigestible if unbroken and therefore of no value.
Caution: Many producers sell worthless unbroken Reishi Spore Mushroom Powder.

5) Microbiology
Some companies handle and pack their extracts under conditions far from hygienic. Such companies will be tempted to reduce a high germ load through Isotopic Irradiation. This treatment however is not allowed in many European countries and has to be declared on the label.

In general Mushroom Powders contain a higher germ load than Mushroom Extracts since the later benefit from a drastic reduction of the germ load through the very process of extraction.

• Mushroom Extracts will display a germ load in the range of 10-1'000 total count.

• Mushroom Powders usually have a germ load in the range of 1'000-100'000 total count. If the Mushroom
Powders show a total germ load of less than 1'000 they have most likely been irradiated. An exception is Shiitake which shows naturally a very low germ load as Shiitake contains many antibacterial substances or generally if the mushrooms have been washed prior to drying.

A dry and cool storage prevents the total germ load from increasing. Therefore Mushroom Powders and Extracts must be kept airtight closed to prevent them from becoming moist - in which case the growth of Moulds and Bacterias is encouraged temperature dependent!

6) Storage conditions
Since Mushroom Extracts are spraydried they are hygrophilic and tend to draw moisture from the air. For this reason extracts should not be left exposed to the air or in moist enviroments. Bottles with capsules of Mushroom Extracts should be used within 3 months after opening. For the same reason we recommend bottles sizes which are consumed within 1 month.

A good solution for this problem is blistering the capsules with humidity resistitant foil.

Remark: Adding 1% Silicium Dioxid (SiO2) or Talcum aids in avoiding the moisture problem in mushroom Extracts!

Remark: Maitake extracts are the most critical extracts in respect of moisture.

Rule: Keep Mushroom Extracts and Powders cool, dry and protected from sunlight.

7) List of possible frauds with Mushroom extracts

! Raw material consists of cheaper and less valuable species- such as Ganoderma applanatum instead of Ganoderma lucidum.
! Instead of a water extraction an enzymatic fermentation is applied which results in a higher yield of inferior extracts.
! Extracts are adultered undelared by cheap substances such as Amylum.
! The Beta Glucan content can be raised by adding cheap Beta Glucans from yeasts.


8) Reishi 10+4% extract and Reishi 30% extract
Only for the Reishi species there are 2 different extracts available:
The 10+4% extract which is standardised to a content of > 10% Polysaccharides and > 4% Triterpenes.
The 30% extract which is standardised to a content of > 30% Polysaccharides and >1% Triterpenes.

Disclaimer: "Our products are not intended to prevent, treat or cure diseases"