Dear Community,
If you’re taking medicinal mushrooms to improve your mental health and physical health, please keep reading.
Our aim is to be sincere and speak the truth. Out of respect and integrity, we will not name and shame any brands. With over 50 years of experience in mushrooms, we are here to educate and help.
Medicinal mushrooms have exploded in popularity in Australia, but unfortunately, so have misleading marketing tactics. Sadly, some brands claim that their mushroom powders are superior because they are "not an extract."
⚠️ This can be outright deceptive and preys on a community looking to improve their health.
The reality? Extracted mushroom powders are far more potent and effective than raw or freeze-dried whole mushroom powders.
Why Extraction Matters for Medicinal Mushrooms
Mushrooms are unique because their most beneficial compounds (such as beta-glucans, triterpenes, and polysaccharides) are locked inside chitin. Chitin is a tough, fibrous material that humans cannot easily digest. Without proper extraction, these compounds remain inaccessible, meaning you won’t get the full medicinal benefits from simply consuming dried or ground mushrooms.
Extraction is done by hot water, alcohol or both. Extraction breaks down chitin and releases these beneficial compounds, making them bioavailable for the body. This is why nearly all clinical studies on medicinal mushrooms are based on extracts, not raw powders!
Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and published health journals over the past decades are based on in-vitro and in-vivo clinical studies on mushroom extracts.
Whole Mushroom Powders vs Extracted Powders: What’s the Difference?
1. Whole Mushroom Powders (Non-Extracted)
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Made by simply drying and grinding mushrooms into a fine powder
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Retains all components, but the beneficial compounds remain locked within chitin
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Less bioavailable, meaning your body won’t absorb as many active compounds
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Often includes mycelium, which has lower concentrations of beneficial compounds than the fruiting body and can often contain filler attached (grain and/or rice substrate)
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Advantageous for profits as it is much cheaper to produce
2. Extracted Mushroom Powders (Ideal) ✅
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Undergoes hot water or dual-extraction (hot water + alcohol) to break down chitin and unlock beneficial compounds
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Higher concentration of beta-glucans, triterpenes, and polysaccharides
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Clinically studied in hundreds of Western peer-reviewed health journals and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries
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More bioavailable, meaning your body can fully absorb and utilise the medicinal compounds!
Real Scientific Evidence - Lion’s Mane Extract vs. Raw Powder
A perfect example of why extraction is essential is Lion’s Mane Mushroom (Hericium erinaceus).
Researchers from The University of Queensland have confirmed the active compouns in Lion’s Mane that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory.
Professor Frederic Meunier from the Queensland Brain Institute said the team had identified new active compounds from the mushroom, Hericium erinaceus.
“Extracts from these so-called ‘lion’s mane’ mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine in Asian countries for centuries, but we wanted to scientifically determine their potential effect on brain cells,” Professor Meunier said.
“Using super-resolution microscopy, we found the mushroom extract and its active components largely increase the size of growth cones, which are particularly important for brain cells to sense their environment and establish new connections with other neurons in the brain.”
Global Published Research Papers on Lion’s Mane Extracts:
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The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion’s Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults (source)
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Hericerin derivatives activates a pan-neurotrophic pathway in central hippocampal neurons converging to ERK1/2 signaling enhancing spatial memory (source)
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Neurotrophic properties of the Lion's mane medicinal mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (source)
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Extracts from Hericium erinaceus relieve inflammatory bowel disease by regulating immunity and gut microbiota (source)
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Hericium erinaceus in Neurodegenerative Diseases (source)
Brands using the benefits of extracted mushrooms in their marketing while selling raw ground mushroom powders are fraudulent and deceptive in their marketing practices.
📌 Key takeaway: The brain-boosting benefits of Lion’s Mane are from extracted mushroom powder, not raw mushroom powder.
What about Extracts in Alcohol-Based Tinctures?
There’s also a lot of confusion about alcohol in liquid tincture extracts. Here’s the simple breakdown:
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Liquid tinctures
Yes, these are extracts but the final products are alcohol-based products that still contain alcohol when you consume them. They are made by soaking mushrooms in alcohol to extract certain compounds (e.g. triterpenes from Reishi). Tinctures are still beneficial but are diluted in comparison to extract powder. If you do consume tinctures, make sure it is extracted from organic mushroom fruiting bodies. We don't sell tinctures at Dr Noel's.
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Extracted mushroom powders
Some of the best mushroom powders go through a dual-extraction process using water and alcohol. However, once the final powder is produced, there is no alcohol left—only the beneficial compounds extracted from the mushroom in powder form. This means you get all the benefits of extraction without consuming any alcohol.
Extracted powders do not contain alcohol in the final product—only liquid tinctures do.
Are Non-Extracted Mushrooms Ever Useful?
There are situations where non-extracted mushrooms have a place, but it depends on how they are consumed:
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Culinary Use
If you’re cooking with whole mushrooms (e.g., in soups or teas), prolonged boiling actually acts as a form of extraction! -
Nutritional Benefits
Whole mushrooms contain fibre, vitamins, and minerals. However, for the full medicinal purposes, extraction is necessary to unlock their full potential.
Beware of Misleading Marketing
The claim that "extraction is bad" is deceptive and preys on consumers looking to improve their health. It ignores both:
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Western clinical scientific evidence, and
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Centuries of Eastern traditional use in herbal medicine.
The best medicinal mushrooms must be extracted to ensure the highest potency and effectiveness. If a brand tells you otherwise, they are either uninformed or intentionally misleading you.
Brands using the benefits of extracted mushrooms in their marketing while selling raw ground mushroom powders are committing fraudulent and deceptive practices.
How to Choose the Best Medicinal Mushroom Product
When selecting a mushroom supplement, look for the following:
✅ Clearly described as an extract
✅ Hot water or dual-extracted for maximum potency
✅ Fruiting body-based (not mycelium-based) for higher beta-glucan content
✅ Transparency about the extraction process (if they don’t mention it, it’s likely non-extracted!)
Please Make Informed Choices Based on Science, Not Marketing
If you’re investing in medicinal mushrooms for health benefits for you or your family, make sure you’re not being misled by marketing tactics that demonise extraction. Extracted mushroom powders are scientifically proven, clinically studied, and the gold standard for medicinal use.
The bottom line: If your mushroom powders have not gone through an extraction process, you are not receiving the full health benefits.
Don’t believe us about extraction?
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Research hundreds of peer-reviewed published health journals
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Research the highest quality international mushroom powders producers in the world (eg. Nammex, Oriveda, Biosan)
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Ask all qualified TCM practitioners
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Try our extract powders and feel the difference—and see why we are loved by over 15,000 Australians!
📌 Extraction is necessary—your health deserves better.
Wishing you and your family good health.
Yours sincerely,
The Dr Noels Mushroom Powder Team
❤️🍄
