Extract vs. Powder: What's the Difference?

Mushroom powder

The whole fruiting body, dried and ground. Everything the mushroom contains is still in there: its natural fiber, its chitin, and its full range of nutrients, cell walls and all. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

Mushroom extract

The mushroom is steeped in hot water or ethanol. That draws compounds like β-glucans out of its tough cell walls and concentrates them. The liquid is then dried into a fine powder.

Same mushroom, different process, and a different result in every gram.

How are functional mushrooms extracted?

There are three common ways to do it. Which one a maker uses depends on the mushroom, and on what they want to draw out.

Hot water extraction. The oldest and most widely used method. Long, slow simmering pulls out the compounds that dissolve in water, including polysaccharides like β-glucans.

Alcohol extraction. Some compounds don't dissolve well in water. Soaking the mushroom in alcohol draws these out, such as triterpenes.

Dual extraction. Both, one after the other, to capture what dissolves in water and what dissolves in alcohol.

Either way, the liquid is then concentrated and dried into a fine powder. Some extracts are cut with starches like maltodextrin at this stage. Ours aren't: the only thing in the stick is mushroom.

Why did we choose extract?

In powder, β-glucans stay bound up in the mushroom's tough cell walls, built from chitin and glucans. Extraction does that work before the mushroom reaches your cup. The process pulls the compounds out of the cell walls and concentrates them, so they're easier for your body to get to.

That's also why we can put a number on the box: ≥20% β-glucan.

One stick a day of Lion's Mane or Everyday 8. Tear, stir into coffee, tea or water.