Phallus indusiatus Polysaccharide Identity
Phallus indusiatus polysaccharide powder is made from the fruiting body of Phallus indusiatus Vent., the bamboo fungus or veiled lady, also listed in older literature as Dictyophora indusiata. Phallus indusiatus fruiting body is the part used. It is a stinkhorn: a tall, hollow stem topped by a bell-shaped cap and a net-like white skirt, called the indusium, that hangs down around the stem.
Phallus indusiatus emerges from an egg-like stage and expands within hours. In food use, the skirt and stem are the edible parts, while the dark, slimy spore mass on the cap, which smells foul to attract flies, and the volva at the base are removed. Processing for this powder follows the same logic: the starting material is dried, cleaned fruiting body without the spore mass.
The polysaccharides reported for Phallus indusiatus are branched β-glucans and heteropolysaccharides containing mannose, galactose and xylose in smaller shares. The mushroom also holds glycogen as a storage α-glucan and chitin in its cell wall. Hot-water extraction brings the soluble and swellable polymers into solution and ethanol precipitation concentrates them.
Cultivated bamboo fungus is grown on bamboo debris and harvested at the stage when the skirt is fully formed and still intact, then dried carefully because the net structure is delicate. The skirt breaks easily, so drying and sorting are done before extraction.
No other Phallus indusiatus product is currently listed in the catalog, and this powder is the only form of the mushroom that Essencefield offers.
