Medicinal fungi arefungi that containmetabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites throughbiotechnology to developprescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include those treatinginfection withamoeba,bacteria,fungus,virus, inhibitors ofcholesterol andergosterol synthesis, andpsychotropics.

InAncient Egyptmoldy bread was applied to wound infection.^[1]

Inonotus obliquus was used infolk medicine tumor treatment in Russia and Northern Europe during the 16th century.^[2]

Hallucinogenic mushrooms include^[3]Amanita muscaria, thefly agaric and"magic mushrooms", which containpsilocybin andpsilocin.^[3]

The ability to identify beneficial properties and then extract theactive ingredient frommold started with the discovery ofpenicillin^[1] fromPenicillium rubens^[4] byAlexander Fleming, September 1928.^[1][5] Scientific investigation into pharmacological applications of mushrooms began during the 1960s.^[6]

Lysine is produced fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae.^[7]

Riboflavin is produced fromCandida famata andAshbya gossypii.^[8]

Pichia fermentans is a source ofastaxanthin,β-carotene, andlutein.^[9]

Fungi are a source ofergosterol which can be converted tovitamin D₂ upon exposure toultraviolet light.^[10][11][12]

Fumagillin was isolated in 1949 fromAspergillus fumigatus.^[13][14]

Transgenic yeasts are used to produceartemisinin.^[15]

Pleuromutilin was discovered as an antibiotic in 1951.^[16][17] It is derived fromOmphalina mutila (formerlyPleurotus mutilus) andClitopilus passeckerianus (formerlyPleurotus passeckerianus).^[16]Cephalosporins were first sold in 1964,^[18] themold whichyieldedcephalosporin C was first discovered byGiuseppe Brotzu in July 1945.^[19]Citromycin fromPenicillium^[20] was discovered in 1969.^[21]Oudemansin A fromOudemansiella mucida was first described in 1979.^[22]Plectasin fromPseudoplectania nigrella was discovered in 2005.^[23]

As of 2022, there is not enoughscientific evidence to indicate that any mushroom or mushroom extract is effective for reducing the risk of cancer.^[24]

Statins are an important class of cholesterol-lowering drugs; thefirst generation of statins were derived from fungi.^[25]Lovastatin, the first commercial statin, was extracted from a fermentation broth ofAspergillus terreus.^[25] Industrial production is now capable of producing 70 mg lovastatin per kilogram of substrate.^[26]

Transgenic yeasts are used to produceinsulin analogs.^[15]

Moniliella pollinis is used industrially to produceerythritol.^[27]

Griseofulvin is derived from a number ofPenicillium species;^[28]caspofungin is derived fromGlarea lozoyensis.^[29]

The history of bread-making records deadly ergotism caused byergot, most commonlyClaviceps purpurea, a parasite of cereal crops.^[30][31] Psychoactiveergot alkaloid drugs have subsequently been extracted from or synthesised starting from ergot; these includeergotamine,dihydroergotamine,ergometrine,ergocristine,ergocryptine,ergocornine,methysergide,bromocriptine,cabergoline, andpergolide.^[30][32]

Brefeldin A was first isolated fromPenicillium decumbens in 1958 at Purdue University.^[33][34][35]

• List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments: Plant and fungus

• Memorial Sloan-KetteringAgaricus subrufescens,Phellinus linteus,Ganoderma lucidum,Trametes versicolor and PSK,Grifola frondosa,Inonotus obliquus,Pleurotus ostreatus,Cordyceps,Shiitake,Lentinan,AHCC.
• American Cancer SocietyTrametes versicolor and PSK,Grifola frondosaArchived 2010-03-31 at theWayback Machine,ShiitakeArchived 2009-06-14 at theWayback Machine.
• National Cancer InstituteShiitake,Lentinan,Cordycepin
• Broadbent, Douglas (July 1966). "Antibiotics Produced by Fungi".The Botanical Review.32 (3):219–242.Bibcode:1966BotRv..32..219B.doi:10.1007/BF02858660.JSTOR 4353729.S2CID 23442996.

• Antibiotics
• Antifungals
• Antiparasitic agents
• Cancer
• Chemotherapy
• Immunosuppressants
• Medicinal fungi

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