Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Mycelium: A Nutrient-Dense Food To Help Address World Hunger, Promote Health, and Support a Regenerative Food System

Roberta R. Holt; John P. Munafo; Julie Salmen; C. Keen; B. Mistry; J. Whiteley; H. Schmitz

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 2023

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Summary

This narrative review evaluates mycelium—the vegetative growth form of filamentous fungi—as a potential transformational innovation to address United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 and global malnutrition. The authors examine mycelium's capacity to deliver nutritionally dense, scalable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable food products that provide quality protein, fibre, and essential micronutrients. The review appears to synthesise evidence on mycelium's technical feasibility and nutritional profile as a food source to combat both undernutrition in food-insecure populations and micronutrient deficiencies associated with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor diets.

Regional applicability

The study geography is not specified in the abstract, limiting direct applicability assessment. However, the conclusions regarding mycelium as a scalable, environmentally sustainable protein and micronutrient source would be relevant to United Kingdom food systems policy and agricultural innovation strategies, particularly given UK interests in sustainable protein alternatives and food security resilience.

Key measures

Nutritional composition of mycelium (protein, fibre, micronutrient content); scalability of mycelium biomass production; environmental sustainability metrics; potential contribution to addressing food insecurity and malnutrition

Outcomes reported

This appears to be a narrative review examining the nutritional composition and potential food production scalability of mycelium-based foods. The review synthesises evidence on mycelium's capacity to deliver protein, fibre, and essential micronutrients as a sustainable alternative food source.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Food security & global nutrition
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Food supply chain
DOI
10.1021/acs.jafc.3c03307
Catalogue ID
NRmontfj6j-007

Topic tags

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