Naturally Potent Mushroom Extracts

Potency is more than numbers. It’s an entire practice of growing and extraction that creates naturally potent mushroom extracts.

Natural Potency

We believe less is more!

“Potency” refers to how well a mushroom extract can deliver noticeable effects. Other mushroom companies create potency in their products by adding artificial beta-glucans.

Our truly potent mushroom extracts deliver more active compounds (and potential health benefits) in a small dose of just 1 gram per day. Better yet, our extracts are entirely natural and contain nothing artificial.

Our commitment to potency begins on the farm and continues through extraction.

Fruiting bodies are grown on their preferred hardwood, creating high amounts of active compounds.
Farmers grow specific mushroom strains to encourage maximum active compound production.
Pure mycelium grows in a liquid culture that mimics its nutrient-rich native habitat.
Mushroom material undergoes dual extraction and membrane separation to concentrate it further.

Did you know?

WholeSun Wellness performs its own extractions! As part of our vertical integration, we have started to extract our own US grown mushrooms.

Fruiting Body Extracts

The mushroom fruiting body can contain up to 30-40% active compounds, making it the top choice for medicinal mushroom extracts.

Step One

Raw Material Arrives

When the raw, dried mushroom fruiting bodies arrive at the extraction facility, hand sort them to remove impurities. Then, grind them into a coarse powder.

Step Two

Hot Water Extraction

Place the ground mushrooms into an extraction tank with hot water. The hot water breaks down the chitin in the mushroom wall, which releases vitamins, minerals, active compounds, and more. The resulting liquid filtrate is drained and reserved.

Step Three

Dual Extraction

Add an ethanol solution to the mushroom material left in the extraction tank. The alcohol will pull even more active compounds from the mushrooms, especially from species with thick cell walls. The resulting liquid filtrate is drained and added to the hot water filtrate.

Step Four

Membrane Separation

Pass the combined hot water and dual liquid filtrates through patented membrane separation technology. Membrane separation ensures that large molecular substances like beta-glucans and other active compounds are retained and concentrated.

Step SIX

concentration and Drying

Concentrate the liquid filtrate into a powder using a vacuum. Add the solids that were removed during extraction (we don’t waste any part of the mushroom). Spray dry without excipients and fillers.

*WholeSun Wellness uses mushroom on mushroom to help the spray drying process instead of maltodextrin.*

The final powder is sterilized with steam before packaging.

Extracts in Disguise

Not all mushroom “extracts” on the market are effective, or even true extracts. Our fruiting bodies go through a heated dual extraction process, cracking the fungal cells and releasing the bio-active compounds and nutrients inside.

Bottom line, if the production process does not apply heat to the mushroom, the product cannot be an extract.

Examples of other forms of mushroom processing that claim to be “extracts” are:

Fermentation
Fermentation claims to “pre-digest” the mushroom, making the bioactive compounds more easily accessible and absorbable. However, fermentation does not use heat! The mushroom cell walls are not entirely broken down and, therefore, the therapeutic components are not totally released.
Dried Mushroom Powders
Simply grinding the mushrooms without performing an extraction produces a plain mushroom powder. Your body cannot break down the fiber in plain mushroom powder, so you do not receive the same therapeutic benefits as you would from an extract.

*WholeSun Wellness laboratory tests show that fermented and dried mushroom powders do not have significant active compound levels.*

Learn more about our testing protocols.

Pure Mycelium vs. MOG

Mycelium is the root-like structure of the fungus that absorbs nutrients. While mycelium has lower levels of bio-active constituents than the fruiting body, it still provides complementary active compounds that can support whole body wellness.

Pure Mycelium

Grown Naturally

Our pure mycelium grows in a liquid culture that is close as possible to its natural, nutrient-rich environment. Since mycelium absorbs whatever it grows on, pure mycelium is rich in bioactive compounds such as enzymes and beta-glucans.

Rich in Active Compounds

Mycelium grown in its ideal habitat will have significant levels of active compounds such as beta-glucans, phytochemicals, enzymes, and minerals. The natural occurrence of these active compounds means that only pure mycelium can deliver therapeutic benefits. Testing confirms the active compound levels and shows no starchy alpha-glucans.

Rich in Active Compounds

A mycelium culture rich in carbon, nitrogen, and minerals ferments in an aerobic environment before extraction. The fermentation cracks open the mycelium cell walls, releasing the active compounds. Once finished, the extract is then filtered, dried, and ground before packaging.

Mycelium on Grain (MOG)

Grown on grain

Mycelium grown on grain is far from its natural environment. Instead of naturally absorbing nutrients, MOG absorbs starch from the growing medium of rice, oats, or barley.

Full of Starch & Synthetics

MOG contains a high percentage of starch because the mycelium cannot break down grain entirely. The extra starch shows up in test results as higher levels of polysaccharides. But those polysaccharides are starchy alpha-glucans, not more beta-glucans! Companies then add synthetic beta-glucans to the final product to compensate for low beta-glucans levels.

Freeze-Dried or Powdered

Some companies freeze dry, ferment, or grind the MOG. These processes do not deliver the same therapeutic benefits as a proper extraction. MOG products can have one of the following listed in their ingredients: myceliated grain, mycelial biomass, cultured oats, and/or freeze-dried myceliated brown rice.

Our Difference

See what else sets WholeSun Wellness apart.