Organic Mushroom Extracts with Ultrasound

Produce premium-quality organic mushroom extracts, e.g. from chaga, reishi, psilocybe cubensis (magic mushrooms), lion’s mane, maitake, and many other mushroom species using ultrasonic extraction. The mild extraction method of power ultrasound can be combined with organically certified (bio-certified / eco-certified) solvents such as bio-ethanol or with purified water. Thereby, ultrasonic extraction allows for the preparation of fully natural, organic mushroom extracts. Good for the consumer, good for the environment!

Fully Natural, Organic Mushroom Extracts with Ultrasonic Extraction

Hielscher ultrasonic extractors are widely used for the commercial production of bioactive compounds from botanicals and mushrooms. Ultrasonication is a mild, non-thermal extraction technique that works on the principle of sonomechanical forces such as shear, turbulences, and pressure differentials. These sonomechanical forces break the cell structures of the mushrooms and release the bioactive compounds from the cell interior into the solvent.
The ultrasonic extraction technique itself does not add any chemicals to nor does it alter the extract. Using solvents approved for the manufacturing of organic products such as purified water or bio-ethanol, makes sonication the ideal extraction method for fully natural, organic mushroom extracts. Therefore, ultrasonic extraction is a highly efficient, rapid, safe and green method for the production of premium quality extracts, which can be certified as organic product (i.e., bio-certified or eco-certified).

How to Produce Fully Natural, Organic Mushroom Extract by Sonication

Ultrasonic extraction using organically grown mushrooms and a non-toxic solvent (e.g., bio-ethanol, organic-certified alcohol or water) is an highly efficient and sustainable method for the production of fully natural, organic mushroom extracts.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Ultrasonic Production of Organic Mushroom Extract

For organic mushroom extract, you can use any kind of organically grown or nature-harvested mushrooms such as psilocybe, chaga, lion’s mane, maitake, reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, polyporus, phellinus, oyster mushrooms etc.
Choose an organically certified solvent such as bio-ethanol / bio-alcohol or purified water. A two-step extraction with water extraction in the first step and ethanol extraction as second step gives a broad spectrum extract. Water extracts and dissolves non-polar phytochemicals of the mushroom, whilst ethanol releases and dissolves the polar bioactives compounds.

Step-by-Step Protocol for Ultrasonically Produced Fully Natural, Organic Mushroom Extract

In order to isolate a strong full spectrum extract from the mushroom, a two step extraction protocol using power ultrasonics is applied. A water extraction is a very efficacious and mild way to extract and concentrate the bioactive compounds from mushrooms. The combined use of ethanol and water is applied especially when some bioactive phyto-chemicals in the mushroom are not water-soluble, e.g., triterpenoids.
Material: Dried mushroom (100g) is crushed into smaller pieces of approx. 1,3cm2 (0.5×0.5 inches). The chrushed mushroom material is placed into a 1.5L glass beaker.

1. Step: Ultrasonic Cold Extraction: The dried, ground mushroom is suspended in 1000 mL of 60% ethanol in purified or distilled water (v/v; 60% ethanol : 40% water) by adding the solvent mixture into the glass beaker with the mushrooms. For extraction, an ultrasonic extractor UP400St equipped with sonotrode S24d22L2D is used. The horn (sonotrode) of the ultrasonicator is immersed into suspension of mushroom and solvent. The use of a stirrer is optional, but may help to transport the plant particles uniformly to the sonotrode. Make sure that the sonotrode does not touch the walls of the beaker. Set amplitude to 100% and sonicate for approx. 10 min. The UP400St comes with a pluggable temperature sensor. Connect the thermocouple with ultrasonicator and insert the sensor into the suspension. In the digital menu of the ultrasonic device UP400St, you can set an upper temperature limit. The ultrasonicator will pause when this temperature maximum is reached and starts automatically as soon as the suspension has reached the lower value of the set ∆T. Recommended ∆T values are approx. 30°C as upper and 20°C as lower temperature value. The use of an water or ice bath helps to keep the temperature during sonication low. After sonication, the mushroom solids are removed by filtration and pressing. The solvent with the extracted phyto-chemicals undergoes vacuum evaporation or rotor-evaporation so that finally the mushroom fraction from ethanol-extraction is obtained. The residual mushroom solids can be used for an optional second soaking step, the ultrasonic hot extraction.
2. Step (optional): Ultrasonic Hot Extraction: The from first extraction recovered mushroom raw material is used in the second step of ultrasonic hot extraction to isolate the fraction of still remaining phytochemicals in the mushrooms. The fungus material is placed in a glass beaker, 600mL of fresh 60% ethanol : 40% water solvent solution is added and heated to approx. 70°C. During sonication, the temperature can rise up to 95°C. The additional heat promotes the release of residual phytochemicals. Since almost all thermo-sensitive compounds have been extracted under thermally controlled conditions in step 1 , this second step can be optionally applied to create a very strong extract, that is complete in all phytochemicals of the mushroom. The suspension is sonicated with the UP400St in the same manner as described above. Filter, press and separate mushrooms from water extract. The phyto-constituents in the second extraction are also isolated via evaporation.

Both mushroom extract fractions, from the cold and hot extraction, are blended together so that a full spectrum mushroom extract is obtained. This extract can be formulated into various products such as tinctures, capsules or edible products.

This process is completely linear scalable to any other volume. Applying the same ultrasonic parameters (ultrasonic intensity Ws/L, pressure, temperature, solid:liquid concentration), all once established results of ultrasonic mushroom extraction can be simply scaled to larger (or smaller) volumes whilst achieving the same results (i.e. yields, process efficiency).

Please note that mushroom fruiting bodies, i.e., basidiomycete, contain significant higher amounts of beta-glucans and triterpenoids than mycellium that grown on grain substrate. Whilst ultrasonic extraction is a highly efficient extraction method, choosing a high quality raw materials is another important factor that influences the extract composition. Ultrasonication can only release the compounds that are present in the raw material. The fruiting body of a mushroom has passed all developmental stages and contains therefore the highest amounts of bioactive chemicals. The mycellium is a stage in the growth and ripening process of the mushroom and has therefore another composition of phyto-nutrients. The substrate where the mushrooms are grown on influences the bioactive ingredients, too.

Ultrasonic extraction releases bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides (β-glucans), terpenoids, triterpenes, indoles (e.g., tryptamines) and other alkaloids as well as many other health-promoting and therapeutic substances effectively.
For instance, psilocybin and psilocin are ultrasonically extracted from the psilocybe cubensis mushroom. Both compounds, psilocybin and psilocin, are known for their hallucinogenic effects.
Click on the following links to learn more about the extraction from specific mushrooms including extraction protocols and video demonstrations:

• Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
• Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
• Psilocybe cubensis

Ultrasonically Produced Full Spectrum Mushroom Extracts

Mushroom are rich in numerous bioactive compounds and micronutrients. Besides polysaccharides and triterpenes, mushrooms also contain dietary fibres, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), proteins, amino acids, keto acids, minerals, antioxidative vitamins (e.g., tocopherols, ascorbic acid), carotenoids (β-carotene, lycopene), flavonoids, anthocyanidins, minerals, trace elements and other bioactive phyto-chemicals.

Ultrasonic Equipment for the Production Mushroom Extracts

Hielscher Ultrasonics designs and manufactures ultrasonic extractors for the production of high-quality phytochemicals such as mushroom extracts. As ultrasonic extraction is a mild, non-thermal extraction technique, which works by the application of sonomechanical forces, power ultrasound is qualifying as preferred extraction technique for the efficient and rapid extraction of bioactive compounds from botanicals. Hielscher ultrasonicators can be easily applied to manufacture organic-certified mushroom extracts. Solvents allowed in organic-certified production such as bio-ethanol, organic-certified alcohol or water are compatible with ultrasonic extraction procedures and can result in complete extraction of the available phyto-compounds. Ultrasonic extraction can be run with any kind of mushrooms and yields in superior extract quality.

Sophisticated Mushroom Extraction Equipment

Hielscher Ultrasonics product portfolio covers the full range of high-performance ultrasonic extractors from small to large scale. Additional accessories allow for the easy assembly of the most suitable ultrasonic device configuration for your mushroom extraction process. The optimal ultrasonic setup depends on the envisaged capacity, volume, raw material, batch or inline process and timeline. Our long-time experienced and well trained staff assists you with consultancy.
Hielscher ultrasonicators are state-of-the-art equipment featuring a digital colour display for easy, user-friendly operation. Sonication setting can be pre-set and saved for repeated runs under the same process parameters. A browser remote control allows for the remote operation via any internet browser from anywhere. This allows you to monitor and operate your ultrasonicator anytime from anywhere. All ultrasonic process parameters are automatically recorded on a built-in SD-card. This allows you to revise and control operation settings and quality outcomes.
Hielscher customers from all over the world are highly satisfied with the robustness and user-friendliness of our ultrasonicators.

Highest Quality – Designed and Manufactured in Germany

As a family-owned and family-run business, Hielscher prioritizes highest quality standards for its ultrasonic processors. All ultrasonicators are designed, manufactured and thoroughly tested in our headquarter in Teltow near Berlin, Germany. Robustness and reliability of Hielscher’s ultrasonic equipment make it a work horse in your production. 24/7 operation under full load and in demanding environments is a natural characteristic of Hielscher’s high-performance extractors.

The table below gives you an indication of the approximate processing capacity of our ultrasonicators:

Learn more about Hielscher ultrasonic extractors contacting us now. Fill the form below for more information, application notes and prices or call us to discuss your extraction process with us!