Mushrooms are macrofungi, with distinct mycelia structure, and fruiting
bodies, divided into stalk and cap that contains spores in most of the species. These
mushrooms are edible with diverse therapeutic applications. Old civilizations from
India, China, and Korea used these mushrooms to cure diseases, especially diabetes.
Diabetes is now a newly emerging pandemic, affecting people worldwide, with special
reference to developing countries. There are several medications available for the
management of diabetes, but their permanent treatment is still to be explored. Due to
synthetic medicines and their adverse effect, people are searching for natural
therapeutic agents. Many mushroom species have shown their potential to control
diabetes and its related complications, such as weight loss, lipidemia, hypertension, etc.
In this chapter, we have discussed five different mushroom species, i.e., Auricularia
auricula-judae, Agaricus bisporus, Ophiocordycep sinensis, Ganoderma lucidum, and
Pleurotus species with their potential therapeutic application against diabetes and its
related complications.
Keywords: Anti-diabetic properties of mushroom, Diabetes, Diabetes type 1, Diabetes type 2, Edible mushroom, Medicinal mushrooms.
