A research team from the School of Engineering at Shinshu University in Japan recently successfully extracted mycelium from the "Fuiting body" (Fuiting body), the sexual sporulation structure of the mushroom, without destroying the micro-hyphal structure of the mushroom. Mycelium) fiber is expected to have the opportunity to be transformed into sustainable raw materials for leather and packaging materials.
The Japanese research team extracted mycelial fibers from the fungi of the genus Enoki and the inedible mushrooms of the genus Ganoderma.
According to the US news website ScienceDaily, Shinshu University reported the experimental results on October 21, 2023 as "Preparation of Mycelium Pulp from Mushroom Fruiting Bodies". The research name was published in the "American Chemical Society Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering" (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering), which details how to maintain the structure of mushrooms intact and easily obtain mycelium fibers.
The online science news media "EurekAlert!" explained that the fruiting body is the multi-cell spore structure of mushrooms. The size, shape and color of the fruiting bodies of different types of fungi usually vary. They are generally found in soil, rotten wood, trees, etc. The large umbrella-shaped fungal objects seen in the substrate are the fruiting bodies of mushrooms. The mycelium fiber extracted from mushroom fruiting bodies by Shinshu University is also called mycelial pulp. This mycelial aggregate is generally regarded as an environmentally friendly material with great development potential.
Shinshu University further pointed out that in addition to being used as leather and packaging materials, mycelium pulp is also very suitable for manufacturing sound-insulating building materials and textiles. Once the mycelium pulp extraction technology is developed and matured, it will be widely loved by the processing manufacturing industry and the consumer public in the future.
What is Shinshu University’s original intention in developing this technology?
"Daily Science" stated that human activities generate millions of tons of waste around the world every year, 38% of which ends up in landfills. However, a large proportion of these discarded items are plastic or For other petroleum end products, these materials do not decompose or become biodegradable over time. Therefore, on the premise of being eco-friendly, it is very important to find plastic alternative materials that can be decomposed in nature and are environmentally friendly. , and it is also the direction that many scientists and industries are working towards.
The news website emphasized that the mycelium pulp of mushroom fruiting bodies is rich in protein, chitin and natural polysaccharides, which makes the processed raw materials made from mycelium pulp easy to biodegrade in the natural environment, and The production cost is low and the harm to the environment is minimal.
Satomi Tagawa, assistant professor at the School of Engineering at Shinshu University, said: "The fleshy spore-producing entities of large mushrooms used to be a source of food for the public. However, in recent years, these mushrooms have also been transformed into daily household items. Compared with products produced from traditional petrochemical raw materials, the former is a safer, more durable and environmentally friendly material.”
Professor Satomi Tagawa also explained that the mycelium slurry extracted in the study is multi-group branched mycelium. This type of mycelium has good plasticity and can be used to produce 3-dimensional porous sponge structure objects, 2-dimensional film materials, and 1-dimensional linear module, which also means that mycelium fibers extracted from fruiting bodies can be widely used in many daily necessities.
How did the research team extract mycelium fibers from the fruiting bodies?
According to team members Professor Satomi Tagawa, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Young Scientist Research Scholarship winner Hiroya Nakauchi, and Professor Yoshihiko Amano of the School of Engineering at Shinshu University, the research team first used sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide and Hydrogen peroxide are used to chemically treat Flammulina filiformis fungi and inedible Reishi Mushroom mushrooms.
Subsequently, the research team decolorized the fruiting bodies of the chemically treated mushrooms by irradiating them with sunlight in a pollution-free manner. The light reflectance of the diluted fruiting bodies can reach more than 80%. Next, ultrasonic extraction technology is used to decolorize the fruiting bodies. Defibrination of the mycelium results in a white, micron-sized mycelium slurry.
A Shinshu University research team extracted mycelium fibers from the sexual spore-producing structure "fruiting body" of mushrooms, which can be converted into sustainable raw materials such as leather.
The study emphasized that although the presentation mode of mycelial pulp is different from that of fruiting bodies, its structure and chemical composition have almost no changes, and there are still a large number of polysaccharides and proteins. Among them, fungi of the genus Ganoderma exhibit fine branch-like mycelial pulp. The genus Enoki exhibits a thicker linear mycelial pulp, but both of them retain their mycelial structure completely. It is reported that in order to accurately determine the structure of mycelium, the research team used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to identify the structure of organic matter.
"EurekAlert!" clarified that in the past, the technology of obtaining mycelial fiber from mushroom fruiting bodies often caused the complex mycelial structure to be destroyed due to chemical treatment and mechanical processing methods, which affected the quality of the final raw material and also indirectly restricted the bacterial growth. The development of silk fibers in the field of NanoScale. This research by Shinshu University College of Engineering is expected to bring substantial progress to mycelium fiber extraction technology.
The research team also mentioned that due to the pigments present in the mushrooms themselves and the foreign substances brought during artificial processing, the final color of the mycelium-generating raw materials ranges from brown to orange. In this study, sodium hydroxide was used , hydrogen peroxide and other chemical substances, and then decolorize it with sunlight to obtain pure white mycelium slurry. This is also an innovative model that not only maintains the original structure of the mycelium, but also avoids using it as raw material. Causes unnecessary staining.
What other benefits can mycelium extraction technology bring?
Professor Tagawa's research team believes that the fruiting body extraction mycelium technology is in line with the "Sustainable Consumption and Production Model" (Sustainable Consumption and Production) and "Climate Action" (Climate Action) in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is believed that this research can help reduce excess waste around the world and also have the opportunity to promote the development of the international bioeconomy.
The official website of Shinshu University quoted Professor Tagawa's statement as saying that the seemingly simple mycelium pulp extraction technology can also promote the development of the edible mushroom cultivation industry, and that related technologies will continue to improve in the future, thus laying the foundation for mycelial pulp as a raw material for daily necessities. the basis of.
"The technology we have developed can bring more sustainable development to the edible mushroom industry, especially when these mushrooms inevitably produce organic waste during the cultivation, harvesting and packaging processes. The introduction of this technology will facilitate the recycling of fungus waste materials,” Professor Tagawa said, emphasizing the positive impact that he and his research team will have on society and the academic community.
She also believes that mushrooms, which are generally regarded as renewable resources by the outside world, are in line with the development trend of environmentally friendly materials. Whether they are used as food materials, raw materials for articles, or as recycling of remaining waste materials, they are likely to be further expanded. The growth of the fungi market and related industries will ultimately achieve the sustainable development vision of being friendly to the environment, revitalizing local communities and increasing employment opportunities.
※ This article is reprinted with permission from "Key Comment Network". The original title is "Japanese team successfully extracted "mycelial pulp fiber" from mushrooms, which is expected to be made into sustainable raw materials such as leather and packaging materials." CC co-creation licensing terms do not apply.
References:
*American Chemical Society (2023/10/21), Preparation of Mycelium Pulp from Mushroom Fruiting Bodies, DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c04795
*Shinshu University (2024/01/08), Novel Strategy for Extracting White Mycelial Pulp from Fruiting Mushroom Bodies
*EurekAlert! (2024/01/08), A novel strategy for extracting white mycetical pulp from fruiting mushroom bodies
*ScienceDaily (2024/01/08), Researchers successfully extract mycelial fibers from fruiting bodies of mushrooms without destroying their microsized mycelial structures
Source: Environmental Information Center
