Hericium: A review of the cultivation, health-enhancing applications, economic importance, industrial, and pharmaceutical applications

Hericium is a genus of edible mushroom with proven medicinal efficacy. The mycelium and basidiomata contain many nutrients and bioactive compounds with therapeutic uses. Recent and emerging evidence has shown that Hericium is helpful to various diseases with medicinal properties, such as anti oxidant, anti cancer, anti diabetic, anti hyperglycemic, hypolipidemic properties, anti inflammatory, anti microbial, anti viral, and hepatoprotective. Over the past decade, many studies have been done on Hericium cultivation to produce enough basidiomata for culinary and medical purposes, due to its rarity in natural habitat. The purpose of this review is to provide the cultivation methods including indoor outdoor cultivations and submerged culture methods, health enhancing applications, economic importance, and industrial applications of Hericium mushroom.