Mush-Med
Boosting immune resilience with functional mushroom beta-glucans and proteins, integrated into sustainable Mediterranean diets
What should we eat and what should we include in our post stress-related health problem diets such as after COVID-19 stressor?
That is the question standing behind the motivation of writing this project proposal (Mush-Med). Until now, there are inadequate treatment options for the management of COVID-19 symptoms and post infection drawbacks to restore our strongly-hit immune system. Having a healthy and strong immune system able to respond effectively and efficiently to external challenges is an important protection that can help us to defeat coronaviruses and their variants or any other invaders.
The general objective of Mush-Med is to include immunomodulatory nutritive agents such as mushroom beta-glucans and proteins in the Mediterranean human diets to boost our immune system resilience to get protection against the emergence and spread of current and future diseases. Beta-glucans have been demonstrated to have prebiotic properties owing to their ability to pass undigested through the gastrointestinal tract, where they act as a substrate for microbial fermentation and selectively stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria.
Figure 1 - Proposal research strategy and experimental tasks
Mush-Med aims to combine food innovation and health science to deliver functional, immune-supporting products inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Figure 2 - Overall project methodology and information flow
WP1-Project coordination and management
This WP includes the internal coordination processes of the project team to ensure smooth implementation of the project and the achievement of its objectives. It covers task execution, partner cooperation, and quality assurance of the project outcomes.
WP2-Production of beta-glucans and proteins from Pleurotus spp.
Production processes will be scaled up using growth chambers and two closed submerged systems, enabling the cultivation of Pleurotus spp. beta-glucans and proteins in controlled, contaminant-free environments. These systems aim to maximize yield per unit (e.g. g/L) while minimizing production costs.
WP3-Biological evaluation of the produced proteins and beta-glucans (Phase 1)
This WP investigates the safety, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and immunomodulatory effects of mushroom-derived proteins and glucans through in-vitro and in-vivo studies.
WP4-Food production
This WP aims to produce, characterize and assess the in-vitro digestibility of gluten-free hamburger breads and vegetarian hamburger meatballs prepared with mushroom protein and beta-glucans. It will also determine their total protein content, amino acid profile, and mineral composition. In addition, it includes the evaluation of their physical properties (such as rheological, textural, color, cooking loss, and pH), sensory properties and shelf-life stability(pH, colour, lipid oxidation with peroxide value, and TBARS, total viable count, total coliform count, and total yeast and mold count).
WP5-Biological evaluation of beta-glucans and protein-based products (Phase 2)
This WP evaluates the safety and immunomodulatory effects, as well as the short-term dietary impact, of mushroom-derived products in experimental animals and in COVID-19 convalescent human volunteers.
WP6-Communication and dissemination
The objectives of this WP are to promote the dissemination of the project and its results, to foster the valorization and exploitation of the technologies and products resulting from Mush-Med, and to raise awareness in the community about Mediterranean dietary habits, particularly through the integration of functional foods that incorporate mushroom beta-glucans and proteins.
The public outcomes are organized into subfolders based on their type. You can access them through the link below:
Stay up to date with the latest developments. All news and updates are shared regularly on our official platforms:
Get to know our institutional partners and our Mush-Med team!
Contact: Nehal El-Deeb
Email: nehalmohammed83@gmail.com
Country: Egypt
Partner 1
Contact: Fabio Gresta
Email: fabio.gresta@unime.it
Country: Italy
Partner 2
Contact: Furkan Saricaoglu
Email: furkan.saricaoglu@btu.edu.tr
Country: Turkey
Have doubts? Need some info? Contact us!
City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City)
Universities and Research Center District,
New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt
Tel: (203) 4593422
National Funding Agency
The Academy of Scientific Research & Technology (ASRT)
This website reflects only the author´s views and that PRIMA Foundation and the European Union are not responsible for how the information is used. All intellectual property rights are owned by Mush-Med consortium members and are protected by the applicable laws. Reproduction is not authorized without prior written agreement. The commercial use of any information contained in this document may require a license from the owner of that information.
