We Bring Out the Best of Every Mushroom
Extracts allow us to unlock the most valuable parts of each mushroom. Raw mushrooms contain active compounds that support wellness, but those compounds stay trapped behind strong fungal cell walls. Extraction opens those cell walls and frees what your body can use.
Concentrated Active Compounds
Better Absorption
Improved Solubility
Protected Potency
A Balanced Experience
Extraction can increase the availability of certain mushroom compounds by releasing up to 90% more beta glucans than raw, unprocessed material.
Spray Drying
Preserving Purity & Potency
Spray drying is a method that transforms liquid mushroom extracts into fine, stable powders while preserving their bioactive compounds. In this process, the concentrated extract is atomized into a heated chamber, where water evaporates almost instantly, leaving behind a dry, uniform powder. Spray drying requires a carrier to spray back onto the marc to flow through the equipment and create the final product.
Beware bulking agents
Always ask your supplier about non-fungal excipients in their extract powders. These carriers are often used as bulking agents to adulterate the final product and falsify spec sheets. Important questions to consider:
- What carrier is used during the spray drying process?
- What % of the final product contains fungal material?
- Why is this specific carrier being used?
The raw mushroom material is an option to use as a carrier, which creates a 100% pure product. Unfortunately, these powders are not useful for all applications as they do not dissolve well in water
For clients looking for 100% water solubility, we offer extracts with no more than 15% excipient. Maltodextrin is usually the carrier of choice for its protective qualities of bioactive compounds. Contact us if you have any questions about carriers or their use.
Mushroom Marketing
The Problem with Ratios
Ratios are commonly used by suppliers and brands to communicate potency, which is misleading and creates confusion for companies and consumers alike. Ratios are simply a reflection of the amount of raw material used in relation to the final product. For example, a 10:1 extract ratio means that 10 kg of raw mushroom were used to produce 1 kg of extract.
Ratios ignore:
1. Extraction type
Hot water extraction captures mostly water-soluble polysaccharides, while dual extraction captures both polysaccharides and alcohol-soluble compounds.
2. Extraction method and equipment
Not all extraction techniques and technology are created equal. A 4:1 ratio using a superior extraction method will yield higher potency than an inferior method with a 10:1 ratio.
3. Efficiency
With proper techniques, less is more. Anything higher than a 10:1 ratio is most likely a waste of mushrooms
The Beta-Glucan Brigade
Beta-glucans are important polysaccharides found in the cell walls of fungi that act as biological response modifiers. They interact with immune receptors to stimulate, balance, and enhance immune system activity. Beta-glucans are also used as a potency measure to advertise extracts (as you’ll see on our product list). These can also be misleading, as:
- Beta-glucans are found in many places other than fungi
- Test results can be artificially inflated by non-fungal beta-glucans
- Some fungi naturally have more beta-glucans than others
- Extracts that target beta-glucans may do so in favour of less soluble bioactive molecules, making for a less potent extract.
- They are found in higher concentrations in mushrooms than mycelium
This highlights the importance of knowing purity of the extract (% of excipients) and sourcing fruiting body extracts when seeking high β-glucan counts. Ensure you get what you pay for!
What Actually Matters
Potency isn’t defined by ratios, it’s defined by measurable, verifiable data.
Our extracts are evaluated using criteria that actually impact formulation performance and consumer results.
Qualified bioactives
Species specific compounds measured via NMR equipment
Extraction method
Water, dual, or spray-dried on marc determines the spectrum of compounds
Carrier content
Indicates how much “real mushroom” is present in the final powder