When making a mushroom extract at home, the question of whether to use water or alcohol for the extraction comes up often. Through my experience, I’ve found that using hot water is the most traditional and common process. This method ensures that the extract is properly preserved while maintaining its potency.
On the other hand, pure alcohol is rarely used on its own for making powders, but when both water and alcohol are combined, the result is called a dual extract. This approach can be important for certain mushrooms, as it helps extract both water-soluble and non-water-soluble compounds effectively. However, not all mushrooms require a dual extraction, and choosing the correct solvent is key to avoiding any negative impact on the final product.
Many mushrooms can be negatively impacted if the wrong method is chosen, but with the right understanding, it’s possible to create a high-quality mushroom extract that’s both effective and well-preserved.
What is a Mushroom Extract?
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A mushroom extract is made by using water or alcohol to extract beneficial compounds from mushrooms. Hot water extraction is common, preserving key compounds like beta-glucans. Dual extraction, using both water and alcohol, is necessary for some mushrooms to extract both water-soluble and non-water-soluble compounds. However, dual extraction may reduce beta-glucans, making hot water extraction preferable for most mushrooms. The choice of method is important to ensure a high-quality, potent product with all medicinal compounds intact.[/su_note]
A mushroom extract is created by taking the raw material from mushrooms and using a solvent like ethanol or water to extract the important natural compounds. This extract can be sold as tinctures or in powder form. In most cases, the solvents are removed to leave a powder, or they may be left to create a liquid tincture.
The reason for mushroom extraction is to make these compounds more available to our bodies. Since the fungal cell wall is made of chitin—a tough substance similar to what crustaceans use for their shells—our bodies cannot naturally digest it.
We lack the chitinase enzyme needed to break down chitin, so much of the mushrooms we eat as food simply become insoluble fibre, which is beneficial for our gut but doesn’t release the compounds we need. This is why common extraction techniques are important, as they help break down the chitin and give our bodies easier access to these important compounds.
The Process of Hot Water Extraction
Making a hot water extract is similar to brewing coffee or tea. You start with a raw material such as mushrooms, vegetables, or even beef bones, and cook them in hot water for a set period of time. This allows the water-soluble compounds to be extracted into the liquid. Once the cooking process is done, the liquid is drained and preserved, while the solids are thrown away.
For mushrooms, the key compounds you’re extracting include polysaccharides like beta-glucans, which are important for their health benefits. Some insolubles may remain in the solids that are discarded, but the extraction liquid will now contain the primary active components.
In a commercial mushroom extract, this process can get more complex, with factors like pressure and temperature playing a role. If you’re making an extract powder, the remaining liquid is removed using a spray dryer, which evaporates the water, leaving behind a dry powder ready for use.
Understanding Dual Extraction
When making a mushroom extract, some compounds are non-water-soluble, meaning that using just water won’t be enough to extract everything from the raw materials. This is where alcohol becomes necessary. The alcohol helps to pull out those non-water-soluble compounds and blend them into the liquid.
After the initial hot water extraction, the leftover solids are added to a mixture of both alcohol and water, and they are left to cook for a set period. Once the cooking process is finished, the solids are separated from the liquid, and this new liquid is then combined with the first hot water extract liquid, creating a complete dual extraction.
Non-Water-Soluble Compounds in Mushrooms
When it comes to making a mushroom extract, there’s often talk about using dual extracts to achieve a full-spectrum of compounds. The key question is: what are these compounds? In the case of reishi, a double mushroom extraction is essential to pull out triterpenes like ganoderic acids, which are non-water soluble. These triterpenes are an important component of a high-quality reishi product and give it that characteristic bitterness—a natural quality indicator. If a reishi product isn’t bitter, it likely contains negligible amounts of triterpenes.
In chaga, a double extraction helps isolate sterols like inotodiol, trametenolic acid, and betulinic acid, all of which are primarily non-water soluble. For other mushrooms like cordyceps, lion’s mane, turkey tail, shiitake, and maitake, there are no primary non-water soluble compounds of note. This is why we recommend dual extraction for reishi and chaga, as seen in our 5 Defenders Mushroom Complex, while for the other mushrooms, dual extraction is not necessary and could even be detrimental.
Measuring Medicinal Compounds in Mushroom Extracts
When it comes to mushroom extracts, many of the non-water soluble compounds can be difficult to measure. Not all commercial laboratories have the ability to test if these compounds are present in the final product. For example, triterpenes in Reishi can be measured using HPLC, which is a reliable way to guarantee the quality of products like Reishi 415. Similarly, Inotodiol in Chaga can be tested, but only a few labs have the tools to perform this test.
The measurement of these compounds adds an additional layer of quality to the product. We always recommend choosing a product with measured levels of beta-glucans instead of just polysaccharides. Without proper analysis, you cannot be sure if a dual extract contains the promised ingredients.
Sometimes, the raw materials could be of low quality, or there may have been a poor extraction process. Fillers like starch or grain might be added, and what is called a hot water extract may not have the actual benefits without the right analysis to provide proof.
The Downside of Dual Extraction
One issue with dual extracts is that test results have shown they often contain fewer beta-glucans, which are crucial medicinal compounds in mushrooms. For example, a hot water extract tends to retain more beta-glucans, while polysaccharides often precipitate in the presence of alcohol, leading them to be removed during the filtration process. This significantly removes important beta-glucans from the final liquid.
As noted by herbalist and traditional medicine expert Subhuti Dharmananda Ph.D., alcohol extractions are not ideal for extracting immune-enhancing polysaccharides from herbs like astragalus, lonicera, and pink oyster mushrooms. He points out that alcohol serves as a poor medium for such extractions because it causes the desired components to condense and be lost from the finished product.
Key points to remember:
Hot water extracts retain more beta-glucans than dual extracts.
Alcohol causes polysaccharides to precipitate, reducing the beta-glucan content.
For mushrooms like shiitake, maitake, and turkey tail, hot water extraction is a better method as it keeps the levels of beta-glucans high.
Dual extracts might only be beneficial for mushrooms with significant non-water soluble compounds, but they reduce the overall beta-glucan content.
Non-Water Soluble Compounds Without Alcohol Extraction
In a hot water extraction process, instead of discarding the solids, they can be included in the final product. This means that even though no alcohol extraction is used, the non-water soluble compounds from the raw materials remain present. Since nothing is being removed during the extraction process, these compounds end up in the final product.
For instance, our Chaga Extract is made using a hot water extract and not a dual extract. The entire extraction process keeps all the raw materials intact, so the raw chaga and its non-water soluble compounds stay in the final extract powder.
Similarly, the Cordyceps-M, Lions Mane Extract, and Chaga Extract from Nammex are special proprietary extracts that include the entire mushroom. Nothing is removed during the mushroom extraction process, which ensures that these hot water extracts still contain all the non-water soluble compounds and other important medicinal constituents.
Final Thoughts on Mushroom Extraction
In summary, making a mushroom extract involves careful consideration of the extraction method. A hot water extraction process is often preferred for keeping key medicinal compounds like beta-glucans intact, especially when compared to dual extracts where polysaccharides can be lost during alcohol extraction.
For mushrooms like Chaga, Cordyceps-M, and Lions Mane, using a hot water extract ensures that both water-soluble and non-water soluble compounds are preserved in the final product. The entire mushroom is used, with nothing removed, ensuring that all medicinal constituents are present in the extract, offering the most potent and effective results.