Edible mushroom, originally from Asia, which is also increasingly used in Europe. It has been used as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, also in Japan, and is also known as the king of medicinal mushrooms.
Shiitake grows on various deciduous trees, has a light to dark brown cap and deep lamellae.
As a food, the flavor with the taste"umami" (=Japanese for delicious) is popular. Umami is recognized as a fifth flavour alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
No monograph.
In Asia, shiitake is valued for arteriosclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and for the treatment of malignant tumors, as well as for stomach ulcers, neuralgia, constipation and gout, and as an anti-aging agent.
Studies have shown efficient bioactivity against breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 68 patients (Spim et al. 2021), a 10% reduction in triglycerides and biomarkers for oxidative stress was demonstrated after 66 days. However, 10% of patients suffered from shiitake dermatitis.
Further studies indicate a reduction in blood sugar.
Rarely gastrointestinal complaints occur, described with eosinophilia, casuistically also obstruction in the ileum, sometimes with indication for surgery. The obstruction is due to the high proportion of insoluble fiber in the mushroom: shiitake consists of 49.1 % fiber, 82.9 % of which is insoluble fiber. The soft, slippery texture of the mushroom leads to accidental swallowing without sufficient chewing.