ABSTRACT
The edible mushrooms have long been popular with people in many cuisines. It is well known that the fleshy fruiting bodies of certain edible mushrooms have a lot to offer to both meal and the human body. All the edible mushrooms are highly recommended by herbalists and nutritionists. This chapter introduces 15 mushrooms and discusses their health benefits. Consumption of these edible mushrooms contributes to improving immune strength, whereas benefiting a dish with desirable tastes and smells. Investigations integrating bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology are summarized in this chapter and by disclosing, these mushrooms possess a variety of biological properties such as cancer inhibition, anticarcinogenesis, immunostimulation, and antimutagenesis, and demonstrate their prominent potentials in health promotion and cancer prevention. This chapter’s discussion will reveal the micro- or macromolecules present in mushrooms that are responsible for these particular health-promoting activities. Oddly enough, the mushrooms discussed are hardly popular in western countries but they show superior medical functions to A. bisporus, a most common edible mushroom.
