Supporting Neurologic Health with Mushroom Nutrition

Abstract

Due to the extensive types of etiologies and risks causing over 600 types of mental health issues, to convene adequate recommendations in primary care is a difficult assignment. The starting point for preventive interventions on neurologic disorders involves scrutinizing the risk factors while targeting multiple hazards in order to increase the success of an early precautionary mediation plan of action. The primary risk factor for most neurodegenerative diseases is the increasing worldwide median age, although one in seven youngsters also experience a mental disability, namely depression, representing a decline in well-being and conferring a considerable global public health challenge. The brain operates optimally when supported by a holistic approach engaging several aspects, and diet is becoming an integral part of care strategies. Treatment is presently dominated by pharmacotherapy, but additional strategies are needed to prevent and treat mental disorders. Dietary modification can prove to be a cost-effective strategy for the prevention and, in certain conditions, treatment of neurological disorders. Molecules of dietary ingredients, micronutrients, phytonutrients, and additives may modulate depression associated biomarkers. Nutritional exposure during the early developmental stages and maternal impact, lifestyles, and the modulation of the gut microbiota through diet as novel therapies for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions is gaining interest for maintaining brain health. Bioactive substances present in different mushroom species have been ascribed to both direct and indirect mechanisms of influence on neurobehavior, and here we support the recognition of mushroom nutrition as an influential dietary element in prevention and management of some neurologic concerns. Scientific evidence demonstrating the unequivocal link between nutritional mushrooms and cognitive health is only beginning to emerge, and nutritional medicine should be considered as an integral part of mental care.

Keywords: depression; mental health; mushrooms; neurological disorders; nutrition.

Figure 1

Mushrooms, plants, microalgae, and cyanobacteria contain several classes of natural compounds (i.e., polysaccharides, flavonoids, terpenes, phenols, alkaloids) with neuroprotective properties, that can be organized according to their capacity of interacting with or affecting biological systems (i.e., preservation of cognitive functions, inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), anti-neuroinflammation, anti-apoptotic, anti-amyloidogenic, and autophagic stimulation).

Figure 2

Matrix metallopeptidases (matrixins) are a large family of proteolytic enzymes, calcium-dependent zinc-containing endopeptidases, involved in the inflammatory response, having enormous implications in physiology and disease. The pro-BDNF/p75/sortilin complex leads to promotion processes such as apoptosis, neuronal growth cone development, and neuronal survival. The mBDNF/TrkB receptor complex triggers activation of three signaling pathways that, in turn, activate the transcription factor cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein (CREB) and the genes responsible for development and survival of neurons.

Figure 3

A summary of functional mushrooms neuroprotective activities. PD-Parkinson’s Disease; AD-Alzheimer’s disease. ADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuronal NLRP3 gene is an inflammasome multiprotein complex that drives neurodegeneration in PD.