A primer
The Science.
Quietly stated.
Functional mushrooms have been studied for decades, far longer in the East than the West. What follows is an honest account of the chemistry behind our tinctures, why we work the way we work, and what we will not claim.
I. The compounds
What is actually in the bottle.
A mushroom is not one thing. It is a small library of molecules: some water-soluble, some lipid-soluble, all of them concentrated by weather, age and substrate. These are the four families our extraction process is designed around.
01
Beta-glucans
(1,3)/(1,6)-β-D-glucans
Long-chain polysaccharides found in the cell walls of the fruiting body. The most studied bioactive class in functional fungi, with a body of work exploring their interaction with the innate immune system. Concentration is highest in the fruiting body, and vanishingly low in mycelium-on-grain products.
02
Triterpenes
ganoderic & inotodiol acids
Bitter, lipid-soluble compounds: the reason Reishi tastes like Reishi and Chaga tastes like Chaga. Only liberated by an alcohol extraction; water alone cannot draw them out. This is why we dual-extract.
03
Hericenones & erinacines
Hericium erinaceus
The signature small molecules of Lion's Mane. Hericenones reside in the fruiting body; erinacines in the mycelium. Both are the subject of ongoing neurological research. We extract for the fruiting body fraction.
04
Melanin & polyphenols
Inonotus obliquus
What gives wild Chaga its inky depth and remarkably high ORAC values. Concentration is a function of age and host tree. Our Chaga is hand-foraged by a trusted Scottish partner from mature wild silver birch in the Scottish Highlands.
II. Method
Four decisions that
shape every bottle.
Fruiting body, never mycelium-on-grain
Most of the bioactive concentration sits in the fruiting body, the visible mushroom, not the mycelial root system grown on cereal substrate. We extract from the fruiting body alone. No starch fillers. No inflated weight.
Dual extraction, slowly
Water draws out the polysaccharides. Alcohol draws out the triterpenes. A tincture made with only one solvent leaves half the mushroom on the table. Our partner extracts each batch slowly, by both methods, then re-combines them at a calibrated ratio.
First flush only
We harvest only the inaugural fruiting of each block, the most articulate expression of the mycelium. Subsequent flushes go to chefs and the café. The tincture sees only the first.
Certified organic, end-to-end
From substrate to bottle, every step carries organic certification. Inputs matter. What enters your body should be as honest as what enters our soil.
III. From farm to flask
The four honest steps.
01
Grow or forage
Lion's Mane and Reishi cultivated by hand on our urban farm in Oswestry, Shropshire. Chaga hand-foraged by a trusted Scottish partner from wild silver birch in the Scottish Highlands.
02
Dry, low and slow
Whole fruiting bodies are dried on the farm at gentle temperatures to preserve heat-sensitive compounds, then sealed in batch.
03
Extract with a specialist
Sealed batches go to our chosen UK extraction partner, who dual-extracts and bottles the tincture to our written specification.
04
Return, check, release
Finished bottles come back to us in Oswestry. We inspect the batch certificate, label by hand, and release to the range.
“We will not make a claim the chemistry cannot carry. Everything else is just marketing.”
Alex Murray · Co-founder
IV. Honest answers
Frequently
asked.
Are these medicines?
No. Our tinctures are food supplements. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. We talk about tradition, biochemistry and our own process, not health claims.
What does '1:3 dual extract' actually mean?
It means one part dried fruiting body is extracted into three parts finished liquid, using both water and alcohol as solvents. The ratio is honest; we do not inflate concentration claims. What you hold is a properly extracted tincture, not a dilute approximation.
Why does the fruiting-body distinction matter?
A great deal of the published research on functional mushrooms uses fruiting-body material. Many cheaper supplements use mycelium grown on grain, which is mostly substrate by weight and contains far fewer of the studied compounds. We choose the harder, slower path because the science points there.
Do you test every batch?
Yes. At present every batch is tested for heavy metals and microbiology, with a Certificate of Analysis held for each. Beta-glucan and triterpene quantification will be added to our forthcoming batches as we expand the testing panel. COAs are available on request via info@shrooma.co.uk.