Characteristics of wine produced by mushroom fermentation

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main microorganism used in wine brewing, be cause this microbe has potent ability to produce alcohol dehydrogenase. We have recently discovered that some genera of mushroom produced alcohol dehy drogenase, and made wine by using a mushroom in place of S. cerevisiae. The highest alcohol concentration in this wine was achieved with Pleurotus ost reatus (2.6 M, 12.2%). In the case of Agaricus blazei, the same alcohol con centration (1.7 M, 8%) was produced under both aerobic and anaerobic condit ions. This wine produced by A. blazei contained about 0.68% beta -D-glucan, which is known to have a preventive effects against cancer. The wine made by using Flammulina velutipes showed thrombosis-preventing activity, giving a prolonged thrombin clotting time 2.2-fold that of the control. Thus, the wine made by using mushroom seems to be a functional food which can be exp ected to have preventive effects against cancer and thrombosis.