MycoThrive™ Functional Mushrooms
A premium line of Nordic mushroom extracts.
At Applied Food Sciences, we are passionate about contributing scientific expertise to the natural products industry. With over 20 years of experience in developing functional botanical ingredients, we are proud to partner with some of the world’s best mycologists to expand our expertise into functional fungi with our innovative line of MycoThrive™ functional mushrooms.
Key Benefits
- Nordic origin (grown in Finland)
- 100% fruiting bodies
- Free-from grain fillers or substrates
- Sustainably and ethically sourced
- Standardized to beta-glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
Target Markets and Applications
- Supplements
- Functional Beverages
- Powdered Drink Mixes
- Gummies
- Tinctures
- Bars, etc.
Lion's Mane
(Hericium Erinaceus)
MycoThrive™ Lion’s Mane is backed by a first-of-its-kind human clinical demonstrating its acute (i.e., single-dose) cognitive benefits, with significant results in as little as one hour post-ingestion. It contains β-glucan polysaccharides, proteins, hericenones, and erinacines responsible for its nootropic advantages.
Acute Benefits of MycoThrive™ Lion’s Mane Extract:
- Improves attention, focus, and working memory
- Brightens mood
- Sharpens reaction time and mental processing speed
- Supports a balanced immune response
Read our clinical study results here!
Ingredient Details:
- 12:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Beige Powder
- Sensory: Earthy, Neutral, Umami
- USDA Certified Organic
Cordyceps
(Cordyceps Militaris)
Cordyceps is widely appreciated for aiding stamina and endurance and providing non-stimulant energy for coffee substitutes and active nutrition products. MycoThrive™ Cordyceps maximizes the potency of this unique fungi through a proprietary growth medium that is 100% vegan. By enhancing the natural growing cycle through this controlled method, we ensure that MycoThrive™ Cordyceps has the ideal balance of nutrients required to develop superior potency.
Benefits of MycoThrive™ Cordyceps Extract:
- Stimulant-free energy
- Enhances stamina and endurance
- Supports healthy immune function
Ingredient Details:
- 10:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Beige Powder
- Identification: Positive
- Sensory: Earthy, Neutral, Umami
- 100% Vegan
Chaga
(Inonotus Obliquus)
Known as the “King of Mushrooms,” chaga is technically categorized as sclerotia, a dense, nutrient-rich mass of hardened mycelium, most commonly found on birch trees. MycoThrive™ Chaga extract comes from the world’s largest supply chain of sustainably sourced chaga deep within Finland’s natural birch forests. This ingredient is rich in polysaccharides and phenolic compounds, well known for promoting healthy aging and vitality.
Benefits of MycoThrive™ Organic Chaga Extract:
- Contains potent antioxidants
- Supports healthy aging
- Supports a balanced immune response
Ingredient Details:
- 3:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Dark Brown Powder
- Sensory: Earthy, Neutral, Umami
- USDA Certified Organic
Regenerative Forestry Practices:
One of the most important criteria when sourcing chaga is ensuring it is wild-grown in a healthy environment. Finland has the cleanest air and most pure water in the world, making it the ideal location for chaga to thrive. It requires 8-10 years for chaga to reach maturity and develop its potency of beneficial nutrients absorbed from the birch tree itself. While the increasing demand has caused global concern for chaga over-harvesting, MycoThrive™ supports sustainable chaga cultivation and stewardship by working only with PEFC or FSC-certified forests, procuring the world’s largest sustainable supply chain of wild-grown chaga. By using MycoThrive™ Chaga in your products, you are supporting the industry and environment by preserving natural forestry and global chaga conservation efforts so that consumers can continue to benefit from this fungi for many years to come.
Reishi
(Ganoderma Lucidum)
The Reishi mushroom is well known to improve vitality and overall wellness and earned its historical moniker as “The Mushroom of Immortality” through millennia of use in traditional Eastern medicine. MycoThrive™ Reishi extract is a “super adaptogen” that can help manage stress, improve sleep quality, and maintain a balanced immune system.
Benefits of MycoThrive™ Reishi Extract:
- Supports stress, relaxation, and a balanced nervous system
- Improves quality of sleep
- Supports mood & emotional well-being
- Regulates healthy immune function
Ingredient Details:
- 4:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Dark brown powder
- Sensory: Earthy
Maitake
(Grifola Frondosa)
Balance your wellness products with healthy immune support from maitake mushrooms. MycoThrive™ Maitake extract contains a variety of beneficial compounds, including polysaccharides called beta-glucans, proteins, dietary fiber, and other vitamins and minerals.
Benefits of MycoThrive™ Maitake Extract:
- Supports healthy immune function
- Antioxidant support
- Promotes gut health through dietary fiber
Ingredient Details:
- 10:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Light Yellow Powder
- Identification: Positive
- Sensory: Earthy, Neutral, Umami
Shiitake
(Lentinula Edodes)
Shiitake mushrooms are widely used in wellness products, especially for supporting a healthy immune response. MycoThrive™ Shiitake contains various beneficial compounds, including polysaccharides called beta-glucans, antioxidants, proteins, dietary fiber, and other vitamins and minerals. MycoThrive™ Shiitake has a high yield potential, making this a highly sustainable product with optimal resource utilization, including water, nutrients, and space.
Benefits of MycoThrive™ Shiitake Extract:
- Supports healthy immune function
- Antioxidant support
- Promotes gut health through dietary fiber
Ingredient Details:
- 11:1 Extraction
- Standardized to β-Glucans (1,3 / 1,6)
- Appearance: Light Brown Powder
- Identification: Positive
- Sensory: Earthy, Neutral, Umami
What makes a MycoThrive™ Mushroom?
Standard of Purity – MycoThrive™ functional mushrooms are powdered extracts made using only the fruiting bodies ensuring they are free from grain fillers and other natural or synthetic substrates. All MycoThrive™ mushrooms are third-party tested to validate the safety and purity of each varietal.
Stable and Scalable Supply Chain – AFS has partnered with some of the world’s leading mycologists to build a sustainable supply chain that prioritizes quality and scalability. From cultivation through extraction, our aim is to meet the growing demand for our functional mushrooms without compromising on quality.
Standardized Extracts – MycoThrive™ functional mushrooms are extracted using water through a state-of-the-art technology that exposes more hydrophilic compounds to maximize potency and bioavailability. Our proprietary extraction process has been shown to produce a greater yield of active compounds, getting the most out of each mushroom harvest.
Advancing Research – AFS is committed to ongoing fungi research. Locked deep within the walls of our Bioventure Center, our scientists are exploring ways to identify secondary compounds of interest beyond beta-glucans that are unique to each fungi varietal. By standardizing to more specific active compounds, our ongoing clinical research will continue to support the mushroom community with more data on the functional efficacy and safe usage levels of many mushroom species.
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Get Started with Functional Ingredients from AFS
Ready to experience the benefits of working with AFS ingredients in your products? Contact our team today to request samples, discuss formulation options, or place an order.
Applied Food Sciences is a supplier and wholesaler of functional ingredients for the natural products industry. AFS manufactures its specialty botanical extracts in bulk for use in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and nutritional supplements. Whether you are seeking extracts, powders, or concentrates, you can rest assured that, with over 20 years of experience, AFS can support your project needs.
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The Nordic Advantage
Did you know mushrooms are powerful bioaccumulators? Fungi tend to absorb more from their environmental conditions than plants do. Meaning they are more susceptible to pollution and heavy metals. While there are many advantages to sourcing mushrooms from Finland, clean water, soil, and air are critical in providing the purest mushroom ingredients. According to the World Health Organization, Finland has topped all other regions in having the cleanest measured air and water quality in the world! Finland also is home to the world’s largest sustainable birch forests. Since much of the fungi kingdom thrives on decomposing birch wood, this makes Finland one of the best locations on the planet to grow and cultivate mushrooms.
What are Beta Glucans and Other Active Compounds in Mushrooms?
While each varietal of MycoThrive™ mushroom contains a distinct set of active compounds, they all benefit from unique, naturally occurring β-Glucans. These compounds are highly bioavailable in fungi and possess superior immunomodulating effects in the human body in a manner that plant-derived beta-glucans do not (such as those found in oats or grains). We standardize all of our MycoThrive™ extracts to 1,3 / 1,6 beta glucans.
