Extraction Process For Mushroom Supplements

Extraction Process Overview

The extraction process is a critical step in the overall process of making mushroom supplements. The cell walls of the mushrooms need to be broken down in order to access the compounds within, and this process must be meticulously done in order to get the most out of the mushrooms.

Transfer to GMP-Certified Facility

Once the mushrooms are harvested and dried they are transferred to the extraction facility. The extraction facility we use is GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certified, meaning they adhere to strict manufacturing processes that require taking proactive measures to ensure the products are safe, pure, and effective.

Grinding and Dual-Extraction

The extraction process begins with grinding the dried mushrooms into a fine powder. They are then cooked with water and alcohol to extract both the water-soluble and non-water-soluble compounds. Dual-extraction refers to using two extraction processes (water and alcohol) to obtain as much of the active compounds as possible.

The processes use heat and/or pressure to break down the cell walls of the mushrooms and release the active compounds within; our bodies cannot break down the chitin in the cell walls of the mushrooms, so these extraction processes release the active compounds and make them bioavailable to us.

Spray Drying and Purification

After the extraction processes are complete, the mixture is sent to a spray dryer to remove the liquids, leaving a pure extract powder with no residual alcohol or water. (Side note: a dual-extracted ‘tincture’ goes through the same process but without the final removal of all water and alcohol. We prefer to have our mushroom compounds without any alcohol included.)

Testing for Safety and Potency

At this point, the extraction process is complete. The powder is then tested at the facility for heavy metals, pesticides, and microbials to ensure they are safe, and then tested for beta-glucans to confirm their potency. After this, the extracts are encapsulated or packed as powders.

Once in NZ we do additional third-party testing of heavy metals, pesticides, and microbials through Hill Labs and beta-glucan content at Massey University to verify that the mushroom extracts we sell are safe and potent.

Commitment to Quality and Potency

Combined with our selective sourcing, we believe these thorough extraction processes result in some of the most potent mushroom extracts available on the market. We aim to provide capsule extracts with a minimum 30% beta-glucan content, and so far all of our third-party test results have exceeded this, with some as high as 55%!