Enokitake

Other Names : Enoki Mushroom, 榎茸, エノキタケ, Enokidake, 榎茸, エノキダケ, Enoki, 榎, エノキ, golden needle mushroom, lily mushroom. Wild forms differing in color, texture, and sliminess are called winter mushrooms, velvet foot or velvet stem, amongst other names.
is a long, thin white mushroom used in East Asian cuisine (such as that of China, Japan and Korea).

Benefits and uses of Enokitake are

Enoki mushrooms offer a smorgasbord of nutrients and antioxidantsm like ergothioneine< They are high in thiamin, niacin, potassium, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, and selenium, and low in dietary cholesterol and sodium. Amino acids valine, lysine, and ergothioneine fortify the immune-heightening properties of the enoki. Cherished for its health benefits, the enoki mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for centuries as a tonic for liver disease, stomach ailments, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

• Cancer : Japanese researchers have isolated two unique polysaccharide compounds called flammulin and proflanin that have been proven to exhibit exemplary cancer-fighting activity against melanoma and ehrlich ascities tumors. A 2009 study published in the journal Immunology showed that daily consumption of enoki extracts improved the survival rates of mice infected with HPV (the primary cause of cervical cancer) by 60%.
• Immune-Boosting Benefits : Research at the National University of Singapore, first published in 2005, stated that the stalk of the golden needle mushroom contains a large quantity of a protein, named "Five" by the researchers, that helps in the regulation of the immune system.
• The mushroom also contains flammutoxin, a cytolytic and cardiotoxic protein that has proven to be non-toxic when absorbed orally.

References

• Bao HN, Ushio H, Ohshima T (March 2009). "Antioxidative activities of mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) extract added to bigeye tuna meat: dose-dependent efficacy and comparison with other biological antioxidants". Journal of Food Science 74 (2): C162–9. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01069.x. PMID 19323731.
• Bao HN, Ushio H, Ohshima T (November 2008). "Antioxidative activity and antidiscoloration efficacy of ergothioneine in mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) extract added to beef and fish meats". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56 (21): 10032–40. doi:10.1021/jf8017063. PMID 18841979.
• Staff (2001-2012). "New look at two wonder mushrooms". NUS - National University of Singapore. National University of Singapore. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
• Tomita T, Ishikawa D, Noguchi T, Katayama E, Hashimoto Y (July 1998). "Assembly of flammutoxin, a cytolytic protein from the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes, into a pore-forming ring-shaped oligomer on the target cell". The Biochemical Journal 333 (1): 129–37. PMC 1219565. PMID 9639572.
• Lin JY, Wu HL, Shi GY (November 1975). "Toxicity of the cardiotoxic protein flammutoxin, isolate from edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes". Toxicon 13 (5): 323–31. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(75)90191-9. PMID 54950.
• TOMITA, Toshio; Dai ISHIKAWA, Takayasu NOGUCHI, Eisaku KATAYAMA and Yohichi HASHIMOTO (8 April 1998). "Assembly of flammutoxin, a cytolytic protein from the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes, into a pore-forming ring-shaped oligomer on the target cell". Biochemical Journal (333): 129–137.