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Abstract Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) once considered a by-product of mushroom production that is viewed as waste, is now considered to be a valuable bioresource that helps to promote sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and circular economy. SMS is rich in lignocellulosic components, nutrients, and good microbial communities, and it is produced out of agricultural residues, which has been extensively transformed as a result of the mushroom growth through microbial and enzymatic modification. These procedures increase its physicochemical and biological characteristics making it a multifunction material that can be used to enrich soil, compost, fertilizer with organic materials and can be utilise to generate bioenergy by anaerobic digestion. Recent studies also show its promise in biotechnology and nanotechnology to produce enzymes, biosurfactants and bioactive compounds. This review analyses peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2025 to provide an updated synthesis of SMS applications and innovations. It summarizes the current progress and recent findings regarding the biochemical make-up, ecological applicability, and sustainability capacity of SMS towards the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights the shift of the paradigm of the linear-based to the circular bioeconomy, with the role of SMS as a catalyst to waste valorization, resource conservation, and green innovation. The future studies are to focus on standardization of SMS processing, evaluation of its cumulative ecological effect, and incorporation of omics-based biotechnological instruments in order to ensure optimum value of SMS. The review introduces an integrated valorization framework linking SMS biochemical composition, microbial functionality, and policy pathways in resource-limited and climate-sensitive agricultural systems.
Parihar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.