The awareness of potential danger of fungi mushrooms for humans is a fact of common knowledge. Probably, the image of food products covered with fungi layers looks very disgusting and seamy. However, eating some cheese with blue fungi inside and outside is considered respectable and presentable. Such a controversy leads to a conclusion that usage of fungi mushrooms might be both positive and negative. Of course, bad effect on health is obvious, but what about its positive influence?In particular, fungi are used in food-making industry (already mentioned cheese production, specifically) and pharmacy. Both issues are worth discussing.Certain fungi species encourage cheese production, growing merely within all cheese mass. For instance, it is related to Roquefort, which originated in a village near Grenoble (France). To provide some details, maturation of the product takes place in grottoes and caves, with powerful flows of cold and humid air and the temperature does not exceed 10 ° C. After salting fungus spores infect the curd and then it is pierced with steel needles, which increase the flow of air into the cheese mass and promote fermentation. The whole process of cheese-making takes several months before it gets on market shelves. Fungus mushrooms also take part in Camembert cheese production. However, in this case spores are supplemented with milk chain coccus. Eventually, the budding fungi is formed, which softens the cheese mass and invests pleasant aroma. As one could guess, fungi mushrooms are good for soft cheese making, which, in addition, encourage crucial transformations of product’s fats.There are several types of fungus, used for cheeses:Blue mold has been known since very ancient times. This type is an indispensable element of marble cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton);
White mold is used for Camembert and Brie.In pharmacy fungi were crucial during antibiotics invention, especially when streptomycin and penicillin were discovered. There is even a new term introduced by Japanese “fungus therapy”, which features mushrooms’ involvement in struggle with certain diseases and conditions. For example, the acid evolved by puff-balls has an anti-tumor effect. Mushrooms from Psilocybe family generate elements, which help to cope with psychological disorders. Leucopaxillus giganteus or giant clitocybe produces antibiotic, which inhibits a development of tuberculosis. Recently discovered fungus therapy became the object of numerous researches in western countries. Scientific studies show more and more new properties of mushrooms. There discoveries point out new types of polysaccharides, including well-known Lentinan polysaccharide.