Like many mushrooms grown or grown in an ecologically clean environment, oyster mushrooms accumulate in the fruit bodies the entire necessary range of micro- and macroelements. The inclusion of mushrooms in the diet is especially important for people living in an urban environment and facing constant oxidative stress (disturbed sleep and wakefulness cycles; nutritional imbalance and eating problems; chronic stress; adverse environmental factors; lack of physical activity). Therefore, mushrooms are a unique and extremely promising product of our time, capable of covering a whole range of nutritional needs of a modern person.

• Oyster mushrooms are actively used in the food industry and are cultivated on a large scale around the world. First of all, it is known as a component of dietary nutrition that can satisfy a large number of nutritional needs of a person. The mushroom contains a wide range of minerals, polyphenols, B-glucans, essential amino acids; it is rich in vitamins B, C, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine and vitamin B12. These qualities make oyster mushroom a unique component of functional nutrition and a nutraceutical that supports the immune system, can be used as a basic adaptogen and a source of antioxidants and is suitable for daily use at any age.

• Like many mushrooms, oyster mushrooms are able to comprehensively influence the manifestations of metabolic syndrome. It has a high content of lovastatin, a substance related to statins and having a pronounced lipid-lowering effect, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and having anticoagulant activity. The mushroom contains a large amount of fiber, which also allows you to bind excess cholesterol and remove it through the intestinal lumen. It is worth mentioning the hypoglycemic activity of oyster mushrooms, which in some studies is equated with the action of metformin. Such a wide range of activity makes oyster mushroom an ideal preventive and therapeutic agent that allows you to correct several metabolic imbalances and painful conditions at once, such as diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, obesity, hypertension, etc.

Oyster mushrooms contain branched chain amino acids. (BCAA), u-aminobutyric acid (SAVA) and ornithine. The presence of amino acids with a branched purpose makes oyster mushroom an excellent element of sports nutrition, capable of improving physical performance, endurance during training

and promote the building of lean muscle mass. Ornithine is also important for athletes, it participates in the urea cycle, reducing the concentration of ammonia in plasma, participates in the synthesis of growth hormone, promotes weight loss and regulates immune links in the body. The GABA molecule participates in the Krebs cycle and acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, relieving excessive arousal in the brain, increasing the ability to concentrate and keep attention on tasks.

• Oyster mushrooms contain record levels of antioxidants glutathione and ergothioneine, as well as active polyphenolic compounds (gallic and chlorogenic acids, naringenin, etc.). Glutathione can rightfully be called one of the main antiage molecules, which comprehensively protects our body from toxins and the effects of oxidative stress, prolonging the youth of organs and tissues. It plays a crucial role in detoxification of a wide range of toxic substances in the liver, including heavy metals and drug metabolites. Glutathione also protects the cells of our immune system from damage, supports erythrocyte function, regulates apoptosis processes, has direct anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects, regulates redox processes inside the cell. With age, the synthesis of glutathione in the liver slows down and the body is increasingly exposed to external aggressive factors. That is why it is so important to maintain its level throughout life and to consume foods with its high content.

Ergothioneine is another extremely important antioxidant molecule found in many mushrooms, but oyster mushroom is a champion in its content. A 2006 Japanese study found a correlation between increased consumption of mushrooms with a high ergothioneine content and a lower incidence of dementia. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the strong neuroprotective capabilities of ergothioneine, in which it reduced the death and damage of neurons induced by B-amyloid. Due to the high content of ergothioneine, oyster mushrooms are also able to protect the eyes from the development of cataracts, reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and protect the kidneys and liver from damage.

• Oyster mushroom beta-glucans, such as pleuran, exhibit high immunomodulatory activity by increasing lymphocyte proliferation and macrophage activation, which makes this mushroom an excellent prevention of cancer and an adaptogen with immunomodulatory activity. This fungus also has a wide range of antimicrobial and antibacterial activity against fungi Candida albicans, Cryptococcus humicola, Trichosporon cutaneum and bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.