Mushroom Extraction and Quality Control: Methods, Bioactives, and Standardization

Mushrooms are rich sources of polysaccharides, proteins, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, sterols, vitamins, minerals, and other biologically active constituents, and their extracts are increasingly used in functional foods, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agricultural products. However, the chemical composition and biological activity of these bioactive extracts depend strongly on species, strain, cultivation substrate, developmental stage, processing, extraction solvent, and storage conditions. Therefore, suitable extraction procedures and reliable quality-control systems are essential to ensure the safety, efficacy, consistency, and reproducibility of mushroom-derived products. This review describes the main stages of mushroom processing, including raw-material authentication, drying, grinding, conventional and emerging extraction techniques, concentration, final drying, and storage. It also examines quality-control approaches, including physicochemical characterization, chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis, quantification of bioactive compounds, microbiological testing, contaminant analysis, and biological activity assays, together with the laboratory quality systems, regulatory scope boundaries, and stability requirements that underpin them. Finally, it highlights the importance of marker-based standardization, validated analytical methods, batch-to-batch consistency, and the combined use of chemical and biological quality attributes.