Japan's Yukiguni Maitake Company has received a US patent for the drying process of the maitake mushroom, which produces an extract said to scavenge the 'active oxygen' leading to cell degeneration involved in aging and diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Crohn's.
The company also announced that its new US unit, the Yukiguni Maitake Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMCA), is to invest $72 million in a 923,000 square foot facility in New York state, to meet growing demand for the mushroom-based nutraceutical ingredient.
The maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) is a rich source of beta-glucans, chains of sugar molecules that appear to trigger activity in the immune system and are thought to help control the spread of cancer. It is also thought to relieve some side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and hair loss.
The company, which produces over 110 tons of maitake mushrooms daily (thus supplying 70 percent of the Japanese market), also received a patent in 1998 for the extraction process for an 'antitumor agent'.
Research has also investigated the effects of the maitake mushroom on HIV, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipemia and obesity.
Kazunori Kameyama, president and CEO of YMMCA, said: "I don't want to call the maitake a miracle mushroom at this time, but the evidence is continually mounting."
The new plant will recreate the growing process developed by its parent company, reproducing the maitake's native environment in the forests of northern Japan. It uses entirely natural ingredients and no additives.
It will employ 200 people and produce 30 tons of fresh maitake mushrooms per day, as well as process the maitake into its dried and extracted forms.YMMCA is scheduled to begin plant construction upon completion of its building permit process, currently underway, and expects to open some time in 2004.