Sale ends 4/10/24

Today we want to share a little insider knowledge that could make a big difference in how you choose your dogs mushroom supplements. Like most supplements, all mushroom products are not created equally!

Myceliated grain products are often sold as mushrooms. Mycelium is cultivated on a grain substrate, typically rice, oats or sorghum. During this process, the mycelium (the vegetative part of the fungus) grows through and with the grain.

While this might sound efficient, the end product often includes a substantial amount of grain substrate. Scientifically speaking, this means there's a dilution effect happening; these products have a higher starch content and lower concentrations of the critical bioactive compounds like beta-glucans and triterpenoids.

While its possible (and recommended) to measure the amount of beta-glucans in mushroom products, some manufacturers measure total polysaccharides, which include both the health-promoting beta-glucans and the less beneficial alpha-glucans (which are essentially starches from the grain substrate). This method can inflate the perceived amount of beneficial beta-glucans in the product.

On average, myceliated grain products contain significantly less beta-glucan, often less than 10%, compared to whole mushroom extracts.

Pros of Myceliated Grain:
Cost-effective to produce
Easy to manufacture in large quantities

Cons of Myceliated Grain:
Lower levels of beta-glucans and other beneficial compounds
Contains grain fillers, which may introduce allergens and increase starch content
Beta-glucan content not tested or reported

Tinctures are liquid extracts made by soaking mushrooms or mycelium in a mixture of water and alcohol or glycerine. Tinctures are popular for their ease of use and long shelf life.

The challenge with tinctures is confirming their potency, as current methods are unable to determine the beta-glucan content. The Megazyme Method, while effective for testing mushroom powders and mycelium powders, doesnt work for liquid tinctures. If a tincture claims high beta-glucan levels, skepticism is warranted, especially if the liquid is thin and lacks a strong taste, indicating a weaker product.

Quality liquid mushroom products should ideally be 1:1 extracts, meaning each milliliter of product is equivalent to 1 gram of mushroom, but many products fall short of this, containing significantly less mushroom content. The high moisture content means that active fungal compounds constitute less than 10% of the product, raising concerns about the efficacy and value of tinctures compared to powdered mushroom extracts.

Overall, tinctures generally contain very little beta-glucan and other beneficial compounds. The extraction process does not efficiently capture these water-soluble components, and current testing methods cannot accurately measure beta-glucans in liquid form.

With the predominance of inert substances like water, alcohol, or glycerin, the average beta-glucan content in tinctures is notably low, often negligible, making it difficult for consumers to gauge the product's efficacy.

Pros of Tinctures:
Convenient and easy to use
Long shelf life
May be easier to dose for pets or individuals who have difficulty with solids

Cons of Tinctures:
Very low beta-glucan content
Difficult to test for beta-glucans, making potency hard to verify
Often diluted, requiring larger doses for therapeutic effects

Double-extracted whole mushroom extracts are considered the gold standard for mushroom supplementation. This process involves a two-step extraction method (first with water and then with alcohol), to ensure that both water-soluble (like beta-glucans) and alcohol-soluble (like triterpenoids) compounds are efficiently extracted.

Double extraction yields a product rich in beneficial compounds and low in starch. Double-extracted mushroom products can be accurately tested for beta-glucan content, providing transparency and assurance of their potency and efficacy.

High-quality double extracted mushroom supplements typically contain beta-glucan levels ranging from 10% to over 50%. Some species like Reishi, Turkey Tail, and Shiitake, have naturally higher concentrations of beta-glucans.

Pros of Whole Mushroom Extracts:
High levels of beta-glucans and other beneficial compounds
Can be accurately tested for beta-glucan content, ensuring product potency
Low in starch, with no grain fillers

Cons of Double-Extracted Whole Mushroom Extracts:
More expensive to produce than myceliated grain or tinctures
May be less convenient than tinctures for some users
Many myceliated grain products are mistakenly marketed as extract powders

In conclusion, while myceliated grain and tinctures offer certain advantages, such as cost-effectiveness and convenience, they fall short in delivering the full spectrum of substances that make mushrooms unrivaled for their health and immune benefits.

All Four Leaf Rover Mushrooms are 100% organic and grown in greenhouses on their natural wood substrates. Every mushroom is third party tested for these important features so you can feel confident your dog is getting the highest quality mushroom supplement available:

• We test for the presence of microbials and harmful fungi
• Every mushroom is tested to be low in pesticides
• We thoroughly test for the presence of harmful heavy metals
• We test for the presence of ergosterol to ensure a low-starch product.
• We use gold standard Megazyme testing to provide a consistently high beta-glucan content
• We test the triterpenoid content in our Reishi mushrooms and cordycepin in our Cordyceps mushrooms

We use only the entire fruiting body, never myceliated grain, and we carefully double extract it, ensuring the highest quality mushrooms for your furry family member.

Double-extracted whole mushroom extracts stand out for their superior potency, ability to deliver a wide range of beneficial compounds, and transparency in beta-glucan content, making them the obvious choice.

At Four Leaf Rover, we take your dogs health seriously and were proud to offer these super premium mushrooms at an affordable price.

Sale ends 4/10/24