Ganoderma lucidum - Medical mushroom as a raw material for beer with enhanced functional properties

Genoderma lucidum among all other cultivated mushrooms is unique for its medicinal, rather than nutritional value. A woody mushroom for centuries highly regarded in oriental folk medicine in recent years came in to focus of numerous pharmacological and medical researchers. The paper gives a brief overview of the obtained results and state of the art of knowledge about its bioactive components and pharmacological functioning indicating its possible use in brewing as a raw material for the production of beer with improved functional properties. It deals with the procedure for Ganoderma extract production, determination of main bioactive substance contents, procedure for beer enrichment and sensory evaluation of the final products. The consumer's acceptance test was carried out by 105 untrained young subjects. The results indicate that both male and female tasters evaluated the enriched beer similar or even better than initial commercially produced Pilsner beer. Male tasters especially showed great affinity for new sensory properties, particularly the body, liveliness, and taste. Female tasters evaluated both beers quite similarly. According to their opinion, beer with Ganoderma compared with initial beer differs statistically significantly better only by its bodiness. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved