‘Sanghuang’ is one of the most important groups of medicinal macrofungi and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the past two centuries. However, knowledge about ‘Sanghuang’ is distributed in journals of different disciplines, which has meant it is not well known. To facilitate the benefit of ‘Sanghuang’ to human health, here we summarize its current status as a group of medicinal macrofungi. ‘Sanghuang’ consists of all members of the genus Sanghuangporus, which now accommodates 14 described species distributed around the world. The powders or chips of basidiocarps as supplements are the main method of consumption. In the case that wild basidiocarps of ‘Sanghuang’ are not sufficient, cultivation is supposed to provide a solution to promote the long-term utilization of ‘Sanghuang’ basidiocarps. ‘Sanghuang’ mainly possesses antitumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and other medicinal properties. Polysaccharides, polyphenols, pyrones, and terpenes are the main metabolites responsible for these medicinal functions. Finally, four directions are proposed to improve the sustainable utilization of ‘Sanghuang’ resources, viz. accurate identification and standard deposition, documentation of species diversity, multi-omics analyses, and a cover-all database. Hopefully, this review will draw more attention to the utilization of ‘Sanghuang’ as medicinal mushrooms in a large scale of industry.

Siderais a polypore genus with white to cream or buff basidiomata, whose species in Hymenochaetales are poorly known. We study the phylogeny and diversity ofSiderabased on our recent collections from tropic and subtropic Asian-Pacific regions. Phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nuclear large subunit (nLSU) ribosomal RNA gene regions indicate that ten terminal lineages are well supported withinSidera. Based on morphological examination and phylogeny, four new species, viz.Sidera minutissima,S. parallela,S. srilankensisandS. tenuisare described, and a new combination,Sidera minutipora, is proposed. All these species are illustrated.Sidera minutissimais characterized by tiny basidiomata with bluish pores when fresh, generative hyphae dominating at the dissepiment edges, the presence of cystidioles, and allantoid basidiospores measuring 3.8–4.4 × 0.9–1.3 μm.Sidera paralleladiffers from other poroid species in the genus by having parallel tramal hyphae in combination with lunate basidiospores measuring 2.8–3.3 × 0.9–1.2 μm.Sidera srilankensishave generative and skeletal hyphae co-dominating at the dissepiment edges, and lunate basidiospores measuring 3.5–4 × 1–1.3 μm.Sidera tenuisis distinguished by small pores (8–10 per mm) and relatively long allantoid basidiospores measuring 4.2–5 × 0.8–1 μm.Sidera minutiporais characterized by buff to olivaceous buff basidiomata when dry, 5–7 pores per mm, rosette-like crystals rare, and allantoid basidiospores measuring 3.7–4.3 × 1–1.3 μm. An identification key to all accepted species is provided.

The genus Fuscoporia of the Hymenochaetaceae is characterized by resupinate to pileate basidiocarps, a dimitic hyphal system with fine crystal aggregates and encrusted generative hyphae in dissepiment edge and tube trama, the presence of hymenial setae, and hyaline, thin-walled, smooth basidiospores. Members of the F. contigua group are easy to distinguish from other species of Fuscoporia because of the moderately large pores, presence of mycelial setae, and large hymenial setae. Here, we explore phylogenetic relationships among 20 species of Fuscoporia based on examination of some 90 collections sampled worldwide. Seven new species are recognized in the F. contigua group—F. americana, F. centroamericana, F. costaricana, F. latispora, F. monticola, F. septiseta, and F. sinica—described from China, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from DNA sequences of the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS), D1–D2 domains of nuc 28S rDNA (28S), and translation elongation factor EF-1 alpha (tef1) support the F. contigua group as one of two major clades within Fuscoporia comprising nine species worldwide.

Phylloporia, a wood-inhabiting fungal genus, has been used as an anti-inflammatory food taken in the form of tea in Shandong Province, China. The species used in folklore have been clarified as Phylloporia fontanesiae and P. lonicerae. To promote the utilization of Phylloporia and its benefit to human health, sources, medicinal metabolites and functions, safety, and commercial potentials are summarized in this review. The fruiting bodies are the most acceptable sources of Phylloporia, but their shortage makes fermented mycelia a good alternative. Polysaccharides, sterols, acidic components, styryl compounds and polychlorinated compounds are the most well-studied medicinal metabolites extracted from Phylloporia. The main medicinal functions revealed from Phylloporia include antitumor, immunomodulation, antioxidant, neuroprotection, prevention of diabetes and its complications, and antimicrobial activity. The safety of Phylloporia has been demonstrated by experimenting for acute and subchronic oral toxicity of fermented mycelia on animals. A large number of patents even if some are being examined have indicated the commercial potentials of Phylloporia. In the future, increased efforts regarding species identification, artificial cultivation and multi-omics data will contribute to the deeper exploration of the medicinal potential of Phylloporia.

Germplasm resources of edible mushrooms are essential for the breeding of varieties with improved traits. Analysis of the genetic diversity of Grifola frondosa germplasm resources and clarification of the genetic relationships among strains can provide valuable information for the selection of breeding parents. A total of 829,488 high-quality SNP loci were screened from 2,125,382 SNPs obtained by sequencing 60 G. frondose. Phylogenetic analysis, PCA, and population structure analysis based on the high-quality SNPs showed that the 60 strains could be divided into five subgroups, and the clustering results were consistent with the geographical distributions of these strains. Based on high-quality SNP loci, a core collection containing 18 representative germplasm resources was constructed, and 1,473 Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR markers were obtained. A total of 722 SNP markers in the exonic regions were screened using KASP-genotyping experiments, and 50 candidate SNP markers and 12 core SNP markers were obtained. Genetic fingerprints of G. frondosa germplasm resources were constructed based on the selected SNP markers; these fingerprints provide an accurate, rapid, convenient, and efficient method for the identification of G. frondosa germplasm resources. The results of this study have important implications for the preservation and utilization of G. frondosa germplasm resources and the identification of varieties.

Berberidis radix polysaccharide (BRP) extracted as capping agents was applied to prepare BRP-selenium nanoparticles (BRP-SeNPs) in the redox reaction system of sodium selenite and ascorbic acid. The stability and characterization of BRP-SeNPs were investigated by physical analysis method. The results revealed that BRP were tightly wrapped on the surface of SeNPs by forming C-O⋯Se bonds or hydrogen bonding interaction (O-H⋯Se). BRP-SeNPs presented irregular, fragmented and smooth surface morphology and polycrystalline nanoring structure, and its particle size was 89.4 nm in the optimal preparation condition. The pharmacologic functions of BRP-SeNPs were explored in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that BRP-SeNPs could heighten the cell viabilities and the enzyme activity of GSH-Px and decrease the content of MDA on H₂O₂-induced AML-12 cells injury model. In vivo tests, the results displayed that BRP-SeNPs could increase the body weight of mice, promote the enzyme activity like SOD and GSH-Px, decrease the liver organ index and the hepatic function index such as ALT, AST, CYP2E1, reduce the content of MDA, and relieve the proinflammation factors of NO, IL-1β and TNF-α in CCl₄-induced mice injury model. Liver tissue histopathological studies corroborated the improvement of BRP-SeNPs on liver of CCl₄-induced mice. The results of Western blot showed that BRP-SeNPs could attenuate oxidant stress by the Nrf2/Keap1/MKP1/JNK pathways, and downregulate the proinflammatory factors by TLR4/MAPK pathway. These findings suggested that BRP-SeNPs possess the hepatoprotection and have the potential to be a green liver-protecting and auxiliary liver inflammation drugs.