What Is A Mushroom Extract?
A mushroom extract is a concentrated form of beneficial compounds found in mushrooms, obtained through a process of drying and extraction. By isolating active ingredients like beta-glucans, polysaccharides, and antioxidants, extracts deliver a potent dose of mushroom nutrients, often used to support immunity, energy, focus, and overall health.
To access the full benefits of medicinal mushrooms we must break the tough fibrous cell wall to release the many bioactive compounds, most notably the beta-D-glucans. However there are lots of other beneficial compounds hiding inside the fiber called chitin (Kai-TIN). Chitin is hard to digest and has its own benefits, but if we want more bioavailable access to the soluble fibers, then we need to crack that cell wall and release the target compounds.
What Does "Dual Extract" Mean?
A dual extract is a mushroom extract made using both water and alcohol to capture a wider range of beneficial compound
The dual extraction process starts with alcohol to capture the compounds that would otherwise be damaged by the heat and pressure of a water extract. once the cell wall is broken we can remove the liquids and are left with a very concentrated and potent residue powder. This powder is quite sticky because the compounds are medicinal sugars also known as polysaccharides.
For the mushrooms that require dual extractions like Reishi and Chaga: The first extraction of the whole dried fruit bodies are macerated to crack the cell wall and to pass a 20 micron filter, then we boil in water ten different times to pass the mushroom through a 200 micron filter.
In the second extraction we soak the material in food grade ethanol 4 times for 30 min each time. The alcohol extraction releases the other non-water soluble active compounds such as triterpenes, in the case of Reishi, and in the case of Chaga: sterols like inotodiol, trametenolic acid and betulinic acid. The material is then heated to evaporate the ethanol and sterilized. The now double extracted liquid is sprayed dried with no additives, and settles into the fine powder we use.
Why Do Other Companies Use Maltodextrin?
Maltodextrin is used to manage the stickiness of the extract. Most companies will either re-dilute the extract into alcohol and sell it as s tincture, or add an "excipient" called Maltodextrin, which is basically a potato starch. This is added to prevent the extract from sticking to the walls of the spray dryer. But it is also used a filler because it tests positive as a polysaccharide!
However all of Hamilton's Mushroom extracts employ a more expensive method called "precipitation" where we crash the liquid into alcohol to separate the sticky "mono saccharides" this means we don't have to use maltodextrin! it takes longer and costs more but it creates a more pure and therefore a higher quality product.
Ignorance and bad actors in the mushroom industry
The other reason many companies use maltodextrin is because THEY DO NOT KNOW IT IS IN THIER MUSHROOMS. this is the result of a general ignorance of the mushroom industry and bad actors withholding information about the process. But what I have come to learn is that most western based companies just don't care about what they are selling and that is bad for everyone.
