fungi

Inorganic fungi decompose organic remains into absorbable units this helps in recycling matter and also increase soil fertility. Some fungi are used in the manufacture of antibiotics e.g. penicillium used in making penicillin.Some fungi are used as a rich source of food e.g. the mushroom. Mycorrhizal relationship between roots of certain forest trees give benefit to these trees which live in soil with less mineral content as the fungi is able to break the humus to release such minerals like nitrogen, phosphorous which are later absorbed and used by the plants. Yeast is used in alcoholic fermentation for production of alcoholic drinks and it is also used in the leavening of bread; it is also a rich source of vitamin B. Fungi have been influencing human affairs for thousands of years, whether as a direct food source, as a medicine, or in a food process. Today food of fungal origin is consumed all over the world in vast quantities, and commercial production is part of a rapidly growing industry. Fungi are of excellent value nutritionally, and of great importance to vegetarians. Edible mushrooms have high protein content, and are an excellent source of fibre, vitamins, and some minerals. Efforts to combat the worlds food shortage, led to the production of single cell protein, grown in industrial fermenters using yeast cells. The result is a protein extract with high amino acid content potentially favourable for application to human nutrition. One particularly successful model was that of myco-protein, marketed as Quorn Essentially the mycelium of Fusarium venenatum, its filamentous nature much resembles . the fibres of meat. Quorn is now available in supermarkets, marketed as a high-protein, low-fat, cholesterol-free meat alternative. When it comes to fungi as a food source, many people are apprehensive and much education is needed before the true nutritional value of such a cheap, readily available food source can be fully realised. 1. 1.1. INTRODUCTION Use of fungi in human affairs

Fungi have a profound influence on human affairs, and their use in food is a very ancient practice. Greek consumption may have begun as early as the fifth century BC where records in the classical writings of Hippocrates and Euripides mention fungus poisoning. During the years of the Roman Empire, the death of the emperor Claudius was said to be due to the eating of a plate of poisoned mushrooms. Some of the fungi were even regarded as great luxuries with magical properties, considered food of the gods. The cultivation of macrofungi to yield fruit bodies began to flourish in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and today over six million tonnes of edible mushrooms are produced commercially each year around the world. Many fungi are of considerable medical significance. For thousands of years, Eastern cultures have revered mushrooms as both food and medicine. Mushrooms or their extracts are made into a soup or tea, research suggesting they may aid in the treatment of certain types of cancer, boost the immune system and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Other fungi are used to modify food to make it more nutritious or palatable. Tuber melanosporum, known to most as the truffle, has a taste and aroma so intense that it is used as flavouring instead of a separate dish. Soy sauce is also produced by growing a filamentous fungus on Soya beans. It is used extensively as a flavouring and condiment in Chinese cuisine. Yeast cells and mould mycelium (known collectively as single-cell protein) grown in fermenters are widely used as nourishment. Modern developments include a novel food termed Quorn - mycelium of the fungus Fusarium venenatum grown in fermenter vessels. The product compares favourably with meat and is the one significant product to have emerged from the efforts to produce single-cell protein to combat the worlds food shortage. Another use includes the introduction of Penicillium roqueforti into curds of cheese, producing the highly flavoured blue-vein cheeses. Not only are fungi used as food, but they are also employed in food processes traced back to the times of the Ancient Egyptians. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast, is used in the production of ethanol: when added to glucose solution (or wort) in anaerobic conditions it will ferment sugars into beer. Another product of fermentation, carbon dioxide, is exploited in the bread making industry, where it leads to a well-risen loaf. 1.2. Nutritional value Today food of fungal origin is consumed all over the world in vast quantities, and commercial production is part of a rapidly growing industry. From mushroom farmers to Quorn-makers, there are plenty of people anxious to sell you fungus as food, usually with a claim that their product represents healthy eating. But how far can these claims be justified? Ancient cultures believed edible fungi promoted healthiness and well-being. These people may have been right, but not because fungi share magical characteristics. Fungi are of excellent nutritional importance and deserve attention for their unique contributions to a healthy diet. 2. 2.1. MUSHROOMS AND MACROFUNGI Cultivation

The word mushroom is thought to have been derived from the French mousseron, a term that included edible mushrooms as well as poisonous varieties. Today, the word refers only to edible fungi, and is generally applied to the above-ground portion, the fruiting body. Those without the typical stem and cap are identified by their specific names such as morels or truffles.

fungi
Mushrooms have played an important role in the diet of many people for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics reveal that mushrooms were thought to bring immortality. Many later cultures believed that eating mushrooms could endow them with super-human strength, give them clairvoyance in locating lost objects and lead the soul to reside with the gods. The cultivation of mushrooms in Europe has been going on for nearly 300 years. It began in the underground caves of Paris in the time of Louis XIV and flourished until the mid-twentieth century. Mushrooms are now being produced in over eighty countries around the world. In 1945, the British Mushroom Growers Association (MGA) was born and total production was estimated at some 450 tonnes. Today total annual production is estimated at over six million tonnes. Britain is the fourth largest producer being surpassed only by the USA, France and Taiwan. In various countries in Asia, up to eighty distinct varieties of wild fungi are offered for sale in the markets. In Britain, the public are much more apprehensive when it comes to buying wild mushrooms. Even so, it is perhaps remarkable that success on a large scale has been achieved with the commercial production of a very few. Role of Fungi in Coffee Plantation Ecology-FUNGI in shaping the coffee mountain ecology. Fungi are a group of diverse and widespread unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic microorganisms. Fungal species are commonly found in soil, in water, on plant debris, and as symbionts, parasites, and pathogens of animals, plants, and other microorganisms. Saprophytic species are important in the decomposition of plant litter and in the recycling of organic matter. Scientists have reported that in nature fungal colonies have been known to continue growing for 400 years or more.

FUNGI -FUNGI. Fungising. fungus; from the Greek sphongis (sponge)are nonphotosynthetic and thus must absorb
nutrients from organic matter formed by other organisms. The great majority of fungi obtain their food from dead organic matter and hence are known as saprophytes;

Fungi have contributed to the shaping of humankind's welfare since the beginning of civilization. Fungi are recognized as both beneficial and harmful in their relationship to humans although this role is predominantly beneficial. They are responsible for a major portion of food deterioration in developing countries; however, the preservative effects of fermentation of foods and beverages with fungi are well-known benefits, including organic acids, alcohol, antibiotics, pigments, vitamins, growth regulators, immunomodulating agents, and enzymes. Finally, various types of edible mushrooms are consumed as an important part of human diets in many countries.

Fungi and Food Processing-Fungi used in food processing have been an integral part of the human diet since the beginning of civilization. In such foods, fungi are the agents responsible for imparting special flavors, textures, odors, or consistencies to food products. Fungi such as Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus spp., Penicillium spp., Neurospora spp., Cladosporium spp., and Mucor spp., as well as yeasts and many others have long been used to process a number of food products from soybeans to peanuts, rice, gram, maize, cassava, taro, and cacao beans.
Cheese manufacture. Two general types of cheese are made with fungi as the ripening agents. Roquefort cheese is an example of cheese that is ripened primarily by growth of fungi (Penicillium roquefortii ) throughout the cheese mass. Brie cheese is an example of one type of soft cheese that is ripened by the growth of fungi (Penicillium camemberti ) on the outside of the cheese mass. In both types of cheeses, the fungi grow and release protein and fat-degrading enzymes that soften and ripen the cheese. Roquefort cheese requires about two months to ripen while Brie cheese requires only about one month to ripen.

Antibiotics Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial and fungal infections. You probably know about penicillin -produced by the mould Penicillium notatum and discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Other examples of antibiotics derived from fungi are: Cephalosporin from Cephalosporium sp. and Griseofulvin from Penicillium griseofulvum and Penicillium patulum. Today, most antibiotics used in medicine are derived from bacteria. Antibiotics produced by bacteria include streptomycin and terramycin.

Brewing Industry Brewers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) ferments sugars in cereal grains to produce alcohol, in addition to various other products, producing beers and lagers.Baking Industry Bakers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) ferments sugars in the flour, but this time carbon dioxide is the useful product of fermentation. When the yeast in

fungi bread dough releases carbon dioxide it makes bubbles in the dough and causes the dough to rise (increase in volume). The alcohol produced evaporates during baking. Myco-protein The product called Quorn is myco-protein. It isNOT a yeast or a mushroom, but a filamentous fungus called Fusarium venenatum. Mycoproteinis used as an alternative to meat in health- and vegetarian products.
Edible fungi: Certain fungi are edible. About 200 species of mushrooms (e.g., Asgaricus sp), morels (e.g. Morchella esculenta), truffles (underground fruiting bodies of some Ascomycetes.Beware of poisonous mushrooms called the toadstools, such as death cap o death angle and jack 'O' latern mushroom. Fermentation and food industry: Certain fungi are used in food industry e.g., Yeast is used in the production of bread and liquor. Penicillium species are used for giving flavor, aroma and characteristic color to some cheese. Source of Antibiotics: Some fungi are source of antibiotics and some other drugs e.g. Penicillin, Lovastatin Cyclosporine Ergotine Griseofulvin Natural dyes: Some natural dyes obtained from lichens are used in fertile industry. Use in genetic and molecular biological research: Yeats are heavily used in genetic and molecular biological research because of their rapid generation and rapidly increasing pool of genetic and biochemical information. Yeast are also being investigated for production of some hormones. Anonymous Great Answer Report Beer production -Fungi is used in alcohol industry as yeast. Ethanol is produced with the help of barley seed

Other Flavours
While many flavours are produced by bacteria, fungi are responsible for a range of flavours including terpenes, menthol and lactones. Fungi also produce compounds that deodorise offensive and neutralise bitter flavours. At present, flavour enhancement is an unimportant area of the industrial use of fungi.
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Colours Fungi produce a range of compounds that alter the colour of food. For instance, Monoascus purpureus has been traditionally used for the production of red wine. The pigments are polyketides that are insoluble in acid conditions. Beta carotene is produced by a range of Mucorales. This can be added to a variety of foods. Concern with the potentially toxic or allergic characteristics of some artificial colours has led to a closer examination of colours from natural sources.