Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.: Fr.) Murr. as Food as Medicine

Laetiporus sulphureus is a sulphur yellow coloured polyporous mushroom and popularly known as “chicken of the woods”. Over the generations, this cosmopolitan macrofungus has become an integral part of tribal cuisines particularly for its taste. Besides, it has equal importance in folk medicine being widely used for treatment of pyretic diseases, coughs, gastric cancer and rheumatism. Thus, the species is considered as a natural reservoir of both nourishment as well as drug therapy and consequently it has become increasingly popular in scientific world. Nutritional sciences recently have witnessed it as a sustainable food supply to growing population due to enrichment of carbohydrate (trehalose> mannitol> fructose), protein (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, threonine), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper), vitamins (B, D, E), polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid) and fibre. Conversely, the mushroom has also been regarded as an abundant source of chemical compounds including phenolics, triterpenes, polysaccharides with wide range of biological activities such as antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihyperglycemic, antitumor and immunomodulation effects. Therefore, a complete summary of the research progress on this fungus is necessary for further studies and commercial exploitation. In this context, the present review attempts to congregate current knowledge on nutritional value, myco-chemistry and therapeutic potential of this culturally important species. However, investigation on bioavailability, quality control, toxicology data and clinical assessment are highly recommended for future research.