Mushrooms can be divided into edible mushroom, medicinal mushroom, psychedelic mushroom, and toxic mushroom. Psychedelic mushrooms are also called psilocybin mushroom, magic mushrooms or hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Types of Common Edible and Medicinal Mushroom
Agaricus is a mushroom that has several well known varieties including meadow mushroom and a medicinal mushroom known as agaricus blazei. Agaricus is available as a supplement.
Basidiomycete mushroom - Active hexose correlated compound ( AHCC ) is a mixture of polysaccharides, amino acids, lipids and minerals derived from cocultured mycelia of several species of Basidiomycete mushrooms. AHCC is available as a supplement.
Chaga mushroom is a parasitic fungus
Chanterelle mushroom - chantrelle mushroom
Cordyceps mushroom is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and Cordyceps extracts are available as supplements. See the latest studies with cordyceps extract including human, animal, and in vitro experiments.
Hericium erinaceus mushroom also known as Lion's mane
Kombucha mushroom was popular a few years ago.
Maitake mushroom is popular. One supplement product has a 10 percent D-fraction concentration. Another Maitake supplement has a 6 mg beta glucan fraction.
Oyster mushroom
Phellinus linteus -- called song gen in Chinese medicine, sang-hwang in Korean and meshimakobu in Japanese.
Portabella mushroom - also sometimes spelled portabella mushroom - portobello mushroom - portabello mushroom. A variety of agaricus mushroom, called agaricus bisporus, falls under the category of a portabella mushroom.
Reishi mushroom is one of the most popular mushroom supplements. See Reishi  mushroom supplement to purchase.
Shiitake mushroom has high antioxidant ability.

Benefit of Mushrooms
Mushrooms contain numerous substances including glycoproteins, glyconutrients, lectins, etc. Mushroom ingestion or a mushroom extract supplement can certainly influence the immune system and have an influence on cancer prevention or treatment. Women who eat a few ounces of mushroom a day can lower their risk for breast cancer.

Mushrooms and breast cancer
Eating a few ounces of mushrooms every day could help prevent breast cancer. Dr. Shiuan Chen of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in Duarte, California, and colleagues tested seven vegetable extracts for their aromatase -blocking activity, and found that white button mushroom had the strongest effect. The researchers evaluated 10 other types of mushrooms, and found stuffing mushrooms, portobello, crimini, shiitake and baby button mushrooms also inhibited aromatase activity. Extracts of the fungi interfere with the action of aromatase, an enzyme that helps the body make estrogen. Because white button mushrooms are the most commonly eaten type, the researchers tested extracts of the mushrooms in a series of laboratory and animal experiments. The extract reduced the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a lab dish, while feeding the extract to mice implanted with breast cancer cells suppressed tumor growth. Based on the amount of extract used in the experiments in mice, about 100 grams of mushrooms daily would be enough to prevent breast cancer growth, and it is possible that eating even less every day could be effective. Cancer Research, December 15, 2006.

Cellular and physiological effects of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi).
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2004 Oct;4(8):873-9. Sliva D. Methodist Research Institute, Clarian Health Partners, Inc., Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
In Asia, a variety of dietary products have been used for centuries as popular remedies to prevent or treat different diseases. A large number of herbs and extracts from medicinal mushrooms are used for the treatment of diseases. Mushrooms such as Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), Lentinus edodes (Shiitake), Grifola frondosa (Maitake), Hericium erinaceum (Yamabushitake), and Inonotus obliquus (Chaga) have been collected and consumed in China, Korea, and Japan for centuries. Until recently, these mushrooms were largely unknown in the West and were considered 'fungi' without any nutritional value. However, most mushrooms are rich in vitamins, fiber, and amino acids and low in fat, cholesterol, and calories. These mushrooms contain a large variety of biologically active polysaccharides with immunostimulatory properties, which contribute to their anticancer effects. Furthermore, other bioactive substances, including triterpenes, proteins, lipids, cerebrosides, and phenols, have been identified and characterized in medicinal mushrooms.
    
Mushrooms and the Immune System
During the height of cold and flu season, Americans are seeking ways to ward off the sniffles. Certain foods can boost the immune system and help alleviate cold and flu symptoms. Some researchers recommend eating more mushrooms, particularly the Oriental varieties such as shiitake. Mushrooms contain special compounds that have been found to bolster the immune system. Mushroom soup would be an excellent choice, because it is not only a hot liquid (which warms the throat and impairs viral replication) but one with the ability to boost a body's immune response.
  The major immune influencing effects of active substances derived from mushrooms include mitogenicity and activation of immune effector cells, such as lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells, resulting in the production of cytokines, including interleukins (ILs), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF)-alpha, and interferon gamma (INF)-gamma. In particular, mushroom extracts could modulate the differentiation capacity of CD4(+) T cells to mature into T(H)1 and/or T(H)2 subsets. As a consequence these extracts have profound effects in particular diseases, like chronic autoimmune T(H)1-mediated or allergic T(H)2-mediated diseases. Immunosuppressive effects by mushroom components have also been observed. The therapeutic effects of mushrooms, such as anticancer activity, suppression of autoimmune diseases, and allergy have been associated with their immune influencing effects.

Mushroom study in mice, Feb 2009
Dr. Keith Martin of Arizona State University in Mesa believes mushrooms could give the immune system a boost in attacking foreign invaders. His research shows the common white button mushroom had stronger immune-boosting effects than more exotic fungi. Mushrooms have long been used in traditional medicine, and mushroom extracts are popular as dietary supplements. Dr. Keith Martin tested crimini, maitake, oyster, shiitake, and white button mushrooms added to the diets of mice. Rodents that consumed a diet consisting of 2% white button mushrooms for four weeks showed no changes in their immune system, and no signs of toxicity. However, when the researchers fed the animals a chemical that triggers colon inflammation and can promote the growth of colon tumors, the rodents that had mushrooms in their diet were protected from weight loss and colon injury. To get the equivalent amount of mushrooms consumed by the mice in the study, Martin added, a person would need to eat about 100 grams or 3.5 ounces of raw mushrooms daily. BMC Immunology, online February 20, 2009.

Split Gill Mushroom
Schizophyllum commune is the most widespread fungus on the planet since it can be found on every continent except Antarctica, where there is no wood to be used as a substrate. N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc)-specific lectin has been purified from this mushroom.

Toxic Mushrooms
Amanita Mushroom - Amanita is the most recognizable toxic mushroom. Amanita phalloides mushrooms, commonly known as "death caps," can easily be confused with other common species such as parasols. Eating them can cause severe damage to the liver and kidneys, followed by death within five to 10 days.
Gyromitra mushroom or false morrel (monomethylhydrazine) poisoning may be partly treated with pyridoxine.

Different varieties of Agaricus Mushroom include:
Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a common, edible, cultivated mushroom also known as white mushroom. The lectin from the common mushroom Agaricus bisporus, the most popular edible species in Western countries, has potent antiproliferative effects on human epithelial cancer cells, without any apparent cytotoxicity. This property confers to it an important therapeutic potential as an antineoplastic agent.

Agaricus campestris - also known as meadow mushroom

Agaricus blazei is an edible and medicinal mushroom. Agaricus blazei is also known as the Brazilian sun mushroom or himematsutake.
     Agaricus subrufescens Peck was cultivated first in the late 1800s in eastern North America. Once a popular market mushroom, this agaricus species faded from commerce in the early 20th century. More recently, a mushroom species growing wild in Brazil has been introduced into cultivation in Brazil, Japan and elsewhere. This Brazilian mushroom has been referred to by various names, most commonly as Agaricus blazei Murrill (sensu Heinemann) and most recently as A. brasiliensis Wasser et al.

Agaricus macrosporus mushroom
Agaricus xanthodermus mushroom is not edible
Agaricus californicus mushroom is a North-American species.

Commercial Mushroom growing
Mushrooms grow in compost. It starts with horse manure and straw, the correct balance of moisture and air is critical. Mushroom farmers have to turn the pile frequently to air it out and they water it daily for about a week. Biological activity occurs with the formation of ammonia while microorganisms grow and reproduce releasing heat. Good compost require a nitrogen content of about 2 percent so farmers add a nitrogen supplement in the form of chicken manure. They also add gypsum, a mineral that neutralizes the acidity and improves the structure of the compost. At the week or two week mark, depending on how the compost is progressing, it goes into the composter which waters, aerates and blends it. The compost comes out smelling like ammonia in the color of chocolate brown. Next, it is pasteurized to kill insects or insect eggs. The compost is heated to 136 degrees for about 8 hours then at 113 degrees for 5 days. Over the next few days the compost is cooled to 77 degrees as the microorganisms turn the nitrogen into a nitrogen protein, a mushroom nutrient. At this stage the compost is finally done. The mushroom farmer sows grains of wheat inoculated with mycelia, fine threads of fungi that act as the mushroom roots. A layer of soil and peat moss goes on top of the compost. The mycelium draws water from the soil and nutrients from the compost. After about 2 weeks, tiny mushrooms begin to develop. The mushrooms grow fast, doubling in size every 24 hours, mostly in darkness. Mushrooms don't need sunlight, but need air. Mushrooms breathe in oxygen and put out carbon dioxide, opposite of photosynthetic plants. Mushroom pickers are careful not to pull out the roots since the roots left intact can produce additional mushrooms every few days. Harvested mushrooms are placed in a refrigerator, just above freezing temperature for a half hour to stop the growing process. It takes about 12 weeks from the start of composting to the supermarket shelf.

Hallucinogenic Mushrooms
The group of hallucinogenic psilocybin-containing mushrooms  include the species of the genera Conocybe, Gymnopilus, Panaeolus, Pluteus, Psilocybe, and Stropharia. These "magic", psychoactive fungi have the serotonergic hallucinogen psilocybin. Toxicity of these mushrooms is possible because of the popularity of hallucinogens. Psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin are similar to lysergic acid diethylamide. These hallucinogens affect the central nervous system rapidly (usually within 20 minutes to an hour after ingestion), producing ataxia, the urge to move, and hallucinations.
      In one of the few controlled human studies of a known illegal hallucinogen, the active ingredient in "sacred mushrooms" created what researchers are describing as deep mystical experiences that left many of the study participants with a long lasting sense of well-being. The controversial study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, looked at whether a pill containing psilocybin, derived from the psilocybe mushroom, would induce mystical experiences among 36 healthy adult study participants. All had religious backgrounds, and all were also given the active drug ingredient in the attention-deficit disorder drug, Ritalin, at a separate time as a comparison. Sixty percent of the psilocybin group elicited behaviors consistent with a "full mystical experience." Two months later, 80 percent of the mushroom group reported "moderately to greatly increased" well-being or life satisfaction. "Many of the volunteers in our study reported, in one way or another, a direct, personal experience of the 'Beyond,' " said study leader Roland Griffiths, a professor with Hopkins' departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry and Behavioral Biology.
     Psilocybin is one of a class of serotonin receptors compounds (similar to the chemical used in many antidepressants) whose effects include changes in perception and cognition.

Mushroom and Cancer
Extracts from a mushroom used for centuries in Eastern Asian medicine may be able to boost the power of a leading chemotherapy drug for prostate cancer. When the mushroom called Phellinus linteus is added to the drug doxorubicin in the laboratory it improved its ability to kill cancerous cells. Researchers added the mushroom extract to doses of the drug that would have otherwise been too small to have any effect. They found that the combination was just as effective in killing cancerous cells as larger doses of the drug alone, but without harming healthy cells. Professor Sung-Hoon Kim of Kyung Hee University in South Korea provided the researchers with the extract of the mushroom, which is known as "sang-hwang" in Korean, "mesimakobu" in Japanese and "song gen" in Chinese.

Mushroom questions
Q. I take a mushroom product called Host Defense by New Chapter. Host Defense by New Chapter is a synergistic blend of 16 medicinal mushrooms. I've been reading up on the web about AHCC. It is more expensive then any other medicinal mushroom product. I can't understand why AHCC costs more when products like Host Defense, Source Natural Mushroom Defense, etc. has a blend of many mushrooms. Is AHCC mushroom that much better? It seems that a synergistic blend of many medicinal mushrooms would be more potent.
   A. AHCC is expensive partly because the extraction process is complicated and many studies have been done with it and it costs a lot of money to do a study. There could be many other mushrooms or mushroom extracts that are as effective for cancer or other conditions, or perhaps even more effective, but since the studies are not available as much, we don't know about them as well as AHCC. AHCC appears to be helpful for cancer, but then again there could be countless other mushrooms or mushroom extracts that could well be as good or better. We are not aware of any studies with the mushroom combination found in Host Defense by New Chapter.

Q. Q. I am researching the vitamin by Natures Way called ALIVE! and I am doing the research (as best I can ) on the Myco Defense Mushroom Blend. I have been looking under the Cordyceps Mushroom. I appreciate the statement about alternating these with other vitamin from time to time. For what it's worth I wanted to tell u that when I started to take these I had weird headaches in the back/base of my skull. "Why didn't I quit taking them?" Well it was in August (when allergy season is at it's peak and I couldn't be sure what was really happening and I was very busy with work and I did notice they did give me more energy. Not like caffiene does, but a more natural energy. I went for a couple weeks and didn't take the Myco Defense Mushroom Blend and noticed a drop in energy so as u can guess I have been taking them every since.