Boletus Edulis is a highly prized and high priced gourmet fungi that has antiviral, anti-microbal, anti-inflammatory and anti-cholestrol qualities. It is also cytotoxic to cancer cells in laboratory and accumulates and chelates heavy metals, induding radioactive waste.
In Europe hunting for the king of the mushrooms is big business. Forest workers in Germany this season were knocked down by a carload of mushroom foragers who tried to move them on. This mushroom weighs about a kilo when mature and sells in Europe for up to $80 dollars per kilogram. ln New York it has been known to sell for as much as $200 a kilo. This mushroom can't be cultivated so world commercial supply of 20 to 100 thousand tons has to be collected in the wild. No wonder picking boletus edulis has become an annual seasonal income earner in nations with high unemployment
In Europe hunting for the king of the mushrooms is big business. Forest workers in Germany this season were knocked down by a carload of mushroom foragers who tried to move them on. This mushroom weighs about a kilo when mature and sells in Europe for up to $80 dollars per kilogram. ln New York it has been known to sell for as much as $200 a kilo. This mushroom can't be cultivated so world commercial supply of 20 to 100 thousand tons has to be collected in the wild. No wonder picking boletus edulis has become an annual seasonal income earner in nations with high unemployment
Common Names of Boletus Edulis and their meanings
The standard Italian name porcino means "piglet" in Italian, perhaps because young mushrooms look a little like piglets, because pigs like eating them or because large specimens look like legs of ham. The English penny bun refers the fungi's rounded brownish shape. The Spanish name is panza, meaning "belly" and the Albanian name means "the belly one".
Health benefits of Boletus Edulis
 | Boletus edulis is prized in many cuisines, and is commonly prepared and eaten in soups, pasta, or risotto. The mushroom is low in fat and digestible carbohydrates, and high in protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. This fungi produces a variety of organic bioactive compounds including the steroid derivative ergosterol, a sugar binding protein, antiviral compounds and antioxidants. Dried Porcinis contain about 200ug of vitamin D2,, about 500 mg of ergosterol and 30 mg of ergosterol peroxide per 100 g. Ergosterol peroxide is a steroid derivative with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity to various types of laboratory grown cancer cells. |
Boletus Edulis Mushroom chelates heavy metals
Boletus edulis tolerates and even thrives on soil contaminated with toxic heavy metals. This is due to its phytochelatin—an oligopeptide which is produced by exposure to metal. Phytochelatins are chelating agents which bond with metal and make it unable to react with other elements or ions so that ends up being stored in the mushroom in a detoxified form. This does not make such mushrooms safe to eat. In European markets radioactivity levels are regularly checked. Perhaps this week's German foresters were trying to prevent the harvesting of contaminated specimens.
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