Edible Fungi Melanin: Recent Advances in Extraction, Characterization, Biological Activity and Applications

Author: mycolabadmin
10/14/2025
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Summary

Melanin from edible mushrooms like black wood ear and reishi offers a natural, sustainable alternative to synthetic melanins with impressive health benefits. These mushroom melanins demonstrate powerful antioxidant and antibacterial properties, protect against radiation damage, and can help maintain liver health. New extraction methods using special solvents are making it easier to obtain pure melanin from mushrooms efficiently, opening doors for its use in food, cosmetics, and medicines.

Background

Melanin is a natural biopolymer with diverse biological activities, but commercial development is limited by high costs, unsustainable sources, and extraction challenges. Edible fungi produce eumelanin, which offers superior sustainability and accessibility compared to synthetic sources. Understanding fungal melanin structure and properties is essential for developing efficient production methods and expanding applications.

Objective

This review synthesizes recent research on melanin extracted from edible fungi, covering extraction methods, structural characterization, biological activities, and applications. The objective is to provide comprehensive reference information for researchers and facilitate efficient production and utilization of edible fungus-derived melanin across various fields.

Results

Edible fungi melanins are predominantly eumelanins with characteristic absorption peaks and typical quinone radical structures. Extraction yields vary significantly with optimization, reaching up to 25.99% using deep eutectic solvents. Multiple biological activities are confirmed including strong antioxidant capacity, antibacterial effects, radiation protection, and liver protection through various mechanisms.

Conclusion

Edible fungi represent ideal sustainable sources for melanin production with superior ecological and safety profiles compared to synthetic alternatives. Integrated extraction methods, particularly those using deep eutectic solvents and enzymatic hydrolysis, show promise for efficient industrial-scale production. Future research should focus on biosynthetic mechanisms and structure-activity relationships to maximize application potential.

Published in:Journal of Fungi (Basel),
Study Type:Review,
Source: PMID: 41149928, DOI: 10.3390/jof11100738