Mushrooms are essential food as well as functional food. They are naturally enriched with carbohydrates, vitamins, fibres and amino acids. They have been used as a part of medicine in the Western and other countries. Owing to their benefits, they are also termed as medicinal mushrooms which can be defined as basidiomycetes class of macroscopic fungi. Among many medicinalmushrooms, Agaricus blazei, which is a basidiomycete fungus, possesses many medicinal properties. Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) is familiar in Japan as Himematsutake, Agarikusutake, or Kawarihiratake. Agaricus blazei Murrill belongs to the kingdom Fungi, Division Basidiomycota, class Agaricomycetes, order Agaricales, Family Agaricaceae and Genus Agaricus. Morphologically ABM possesses small to large fruiting bodies, the colour changes with age from white, yellow and brown piles to chocolate brown and dark-brown. Agaricus blazei possess many medicinal properties such as anti-cancer activity, anti-tumour activity, immune modulatory activity, cytotoxic activity, anti-oxidant activity, anti-viral activity, anti-bacterial activity, anti-diabetic activity, anti-hypertensive activity, anti-thrombotic activity, anti-anaphylaxis andthe fungus is also used as an adjuvant in many diseases.
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