Bristol Fungarium | Organic Mushroom Extracts

🍄🧬 Crude Polysaccharide Test 🧬🍄 We often talk about the strength of our tinctures. For the past five years, we have poured ourselves into making the most potent mushroom extracts we can possibly produce - triple extracted, 1:4 tinctures made with a liberal amount of organic and native Somerset-grown fungi that we cultivate here at the farm 🍄 “But doesn’t everyone harp on about the potency of their medicinal mushroom extracts these days?” We hear you cry… YUP. We fully appreciate how convoluted this makes things as a consumer, avidly researching the brave new world of functional mushroom supplements only to find a dozen brands saying exactly the same thing. It’s a maze of information out there, so sometimes it can help to see things visually 🧐 As @martin_powell_insta pointed out during last year’s Medicinal Mushroom Conference, some of the best indicators for the strength of an extract are sensory. What does it look like? How viscous is the tincture? How does it taste? Is the Turkey tail mucilaginous? Is the Reishi bitter? 🤔 Using these relatively common sense practices are a really good way to get to grips with how much actual mushroom has made its way into the extraction process, and how comprehensive that extraction process has been to produce the final tincture ⚗️ A rough and ready guide for tincture quality is this crude polysaccharide test - which forces the water soluble compounds (mainly the long chain polysaccharides) out of solution and so enables you to actually get a visual on how much is contained in a given sample. It’s super simple, albeit a little rudimentary - and we’ve used it to observe various brand offerings over the past few years. We have then sent several off to the lab for third party testing using Megazymes Betaglucan assay (more on that in another post! Some of the results are quite staggering). Loosely speaking, there are 3 steps: 🧪 0.7ml of the sample mushroom tincture is taken and added to a test tube 🧪 The sample is topped up with x10 of the equivalent (so 7ml ) 97% ethanol 🧪 Finally, the test tube is lightly shaken to stir up the solution [continued in comments…] 🥼 #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn #ScienceLed

Swipe for what has got to be our favourite customer testimonial ever… GET GRANNY ON MASTERMIND!!! 🍄🧠✨ Thanks so much for sharing @megan.yoga this has made our day 🙏🏼 🍄 🍄 🍄 #lionsmane #mushrooms #lionsmanemushroom #reishi #cordyceps #chaga #fungi #hereciumerinaceus #mushroom #medicinalmushrooms #natureshealers #nootropics #adaptogens #health #lionqueen #mycology #organic #lionsmanemushrooms #lioness #vegan #nootropic #mind #mentalwealth #cognition #generalknowledge #memory #granny

#UNREEL 🤯 Name a better testimonial… We’ll wait!! THE ABSOLUTE G Daddy of our greatest native musical genre bestowing the virtues of our native Somerset lions mane tincture earlier today 😍🫠 We were so excited to see this that we decided to name the next hericium isolate strain after the man himself, @mrgoldie lions mane coming thru 🦁 (Fungarium equivalent to an MBE) we’ll keep you all posted on it’s progress… ✌🏼 So grateful for support from incredible souls like this. Our website nearly blew up more than once over the last 24hrs and there are suddenly over 10k of you legends here for the ride! We are so grateful for every single one of you! And SO STOKED to keep doing what we do. #FUNGALISTMASSIVE 💯🍄♥️ What a way to wrap up #festivalseason ✌🏼 #Goldie 🍄 🍄 🍄 #MBE #mushroom #badman #extraordinaire #drumandbass #royalty #godfather #nationaltreasure #lionsmane #medicinalmushrooms #therealones #represent #love #music #mushrooms #lifemade

Happy International Pride Day 🍄🙌🏼🌈 Technically speaking, the whole month of June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, filled with prismatic parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts galore attracting millions of glorious gays around the globe to celebrate queerness in all it’s myriad, morphing forms. Memorials are also held for members of the community who have been tragically lost to hate crimes, HIV/AIDS or suicide. Lest we forget 💫 LGBTQIA+ oppression has manifested itself in all areas of thought, and mycology is no exception. But mycology is Queer at the organismal and organisational level 🌈🍄 Fungi resist imposed categorisation, helping us to shift paradigms away from binary, rigid and heteronormative ways of understanding nature towards interdependency and fluidity. Fungi sex is Feeld on Mushrooms. A Queendom of kinky, swinging, casual, ethical non-monogamists supporting intersex, interspecies, into-whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-be-into even if it’s absolutely nothing intimacies! 🍄❤️🤩🌈 (there are many asexual, DIY fungi). Schizophyllum commune for instance - the fabulous fungi shown in the pics - encompasses a complex mating system involving over 28,000 (!!!) different sexes 🤯 Fungi are creative and recreative legends — in their world, there is no shame, no stigma, no hierarchies, no binaries: they are amorphous, mercurial creatures, taking the shape of whatever container they find themselves in and slaying it 💅 At the organisation level, the (actual) Field of mycology is driven by amateur mycologists, citizen scientists, psychonauts, and low-key fungi lovers 🍄 It is hyper intersectional and interdisciplinary, entangling foragers, cooks, artists, musicians, designers, architects, scientists, herbalists, nutritionists, philosophers, psychologists, ecologists, poets, writers, and people of all ages and walks of life. Mycology is QUEER and RADICAL and we are all the way here for it. Happy International Pride Day 🫶🏼 Mush love from your weird and wonderfully queer neighbourhood mushroom folk, always 🍄♥️ #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn #ScienceLed 🍄 ♥️ 🌈 #queerecology #mycology #queer #internationalprideday #LGBTQIA + #pride

ATT: GLASTO GANG 🪐💫 Don’t forget your mushrooms 🙏🏼 The season is upon us and it is HOT. This weekend you might not need your wellies and umbrellas but whatever the weather, these mushrooms have got your back 👌🏼 Our Festival Recovery Bundle is a tried and tested trio featuring three of our most popular tinctures to help support recovery of the body mind and soul 🫶🏻 Lion’s Mane: Long touted for its cognitive-enhancing properties, if you’re feeling a little fuzzy after a weekend of fun, lion’s mane will get your head back in the game 🧠 Reishi: Enter Reishi! Legend says it might be able to calm an overactive nervous system, support the adrenals, reduce anxiety, and maybe even provide anti-depressive effects 🧡 Chaga: The diuretic effects of drinking can deplete minerals like zinc & magnesium. Chaga is one of the most alkaline food sources in the world due to it’s mineral density and can give your liver some love during all the decadence 🍸✨ In an ideal world, it’s a good idea to pre-game these fantastic fungi but including them in your post-festivities routine is a great way to start feeling human again nonetheless ☀️🌈 Combining the neuroprotective and gut-loving benefits of Lion’s Mane, the anti-inflammatory magic ft. big ol’ hug for your nervous system from Reishi, and the antioxidant, immune-boosting powers of Chaga — these functional mushrooms carry us through the summer☀️ Find us at CasBar in Strummerville — our tinctures await 💫 #BristolFungarium  #BristolBorn  #ScienceLed 🍄 🍄 🍄 #festival #festivalseason #festivalrecoverybundle #medicinalmushrooms #mushroom #mushrooms #functionalmushrooms #fungi #fungus #fantasticfungi #superfood #lionsmane #reishi #chaga #dontforgetyourmushrooms #cognition #enhancing #legend #alkaline #immuneboost #antiinflammatory #summer #sunshine #community #love #britishsummer #BST

We’ve been sitting on this for a hot minute… 👀📣 Some of you have already spotted us on the shelves of @hollandandbarrett - pretty big news eh! This has been in the workings for the past 12 months or so and you can now find us in 200 shops up and down the UK 🇬🇧 It is indeed very exciting news for a lil mushroom farm like us to be adorning the shelves of an institution like H&B, and lord knows it took us a long time, blood, sweat and tears (real tears, mostly Tom’s) to get here 🥲 Because Holland & Barrett have such a mass reach, our H&B product was specifically formulated for them at a lower extraction ratio than our core range; 1:8 instead of 1:4. It’s a bit confusing in the realms of extract ratios in that a higher number actually indicates a lower strength. Ie: 1:4 = 1g mushroom to every 4ml of liquid decoction, whereas a 1:8 = 1g mushroom to every 8ml of liquid. Our new neighbours tend to be 1:20 extracts or there abouts - so these proprietary 1:8 blends are over 2x stronger than their shelf-peers. However, for our OG 1:4 triple extracts - you can still head on over to our website bristolfungarium.com 🍄♥️ But, if you need some quick relief from the hustle and bustle of the highstreet, you can find 30ml of Reishi tincture waiting for you in H&B - along with Lion’s mane, and Chaga in beautiful little forest green boxes to help differentiate them from our originals 💚 Have you spotted us in your local Holland & Barrett? Keep your eyes peeled and let us know in the comments 🌞 #mushrooms #medicinalmushrooms #lionsmane #reishi #chaga #newkidsontheblock #wellbeing #wellness #health #mentalhealth #selfcare #mindfulness #selflove #motivation #healthyliving #anxiety #lifestyle #healthy #nutrition #inspiration

Blessed solstice folx 🌻 The magnificent fulcrum upon which the year pivots, casting us headfirst into the embrace of summer. What a treat it was to feel the sun as it traced its longest arc across our skies 🥰 Yesterday, coincidentally, also marked World Productivity Day. Which one might think is an odd juxtaposition; the height of natural splendour paired with a celebration of human industriousness. Yet, there seems to us to be a more meaningful connection at play here, a symbolism that asks us to consider the essence of productivity in a broader context… 💭 Productivity, which we tend to measure in hours logged / tasks completed / goals achieved, is a concept very much associated with relentless forward momentum. But, the summer solstice, with its lingering light and gentle invitations to pause, reminds us that true productivity is not merely the sum of our exertions but also the quality of our presence and engagement with the world around us 🌳 We had intended to gather at our local stone circle yesterday to celebrate the solstice in Stanton Drew style, but truth be told we were all so pooped from endless productivity that we opted instead to pause in our places, set some personal intentions and enjoy a sigh of summer relief in appreciation for all the magic and gifts this year has already brought 🍓🍄 Perhaps this solstice is a perfect time to step back and acknowledge that our well-being is inextricably linked to the health of our surroundings… with which there are so many ways to engage: planting a garden, taking a mindful walk in the woods, or simply pausing to listen to the rustle of leaves in the breeze. These acts, however small, are all steps toward a more balanced, more meaningful existence 🙏🏼 May your solstices be bright and the fruits of your labour abundant - whatever that looks like for you - and may you always find time to touch the earth, to listen to the whisper of the wind, and to bask in the warmth of the sun 🌞 Thanks for being here you beauties xxx #BristolFungarium #SummerSolstice #Musings 🍄 🍄 🍄 #Solstice #LongestDay #Midsummer #Summer #Sunset #Sunrise #SummerVibes #Nature #Sunshine #FullMoon #StrawberryMoon #🍓🌝

Chaga Q&A! We’ll start… 🤓 Did you know that the Sami people, indigenous to the Arctic regions of Scandinavia, hold deep-rooted beliefs about Chaga? 🍄 In Sami tradition, this supernatural sclerotium symbolises strength, resilience, and a vital connection to nature 🌳 The Sami prepare Chaga by drying and grinding it into a powder, then brewing it over and over to achieve the most potent decoction - which is firmly believed to be the seventh brew ☕️ Sami hunters would drink this super-charged seventh brew of Chaga tea before an expedition, trusting in its power to enhance stamina, sharpen the senses, and protect them from illness 💪🏼 There is both symbolic and practical importance of Chaga in Sami culture, which to us highlights their profound relationship with the natural world and a reliance on traditional knowledge for both survival and well-being ~ swoon, generational wisdom 🗣️✨ As usual, there’s so much we can learn from our native brothers and sisters the world over… While we might not all have Chaga growing in our back gardens, (and the Sami people are quite unlikely to have blood oranges growing in theirs!) we hope our tinctures can help to bridge the gap between native wisdom and wellbeing in a modern context. They really do hit different with a generous squeeze of fresh OJ 🍊 Curious to learn more about this peculiar, primordial fungus? 🙋🏻‍♀️ Comment your questions below and we’ll respond to them in a video next week👇🏼 #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn #ScienceLed 🍄 🍄 🍄 #Chaga #MedicinalMushrooms #Superfood #NaturalRemedies #HerbalMedicine #Adaptogens #HolisticHealth #ImmuneBoost #HealthBenefits #TraditionalMedicine #MushroomPower #NatureCure #SustainableHealth #WellnessJourney #HealingFoods #IndigenousWisdom #Native #Traditional #Ancient #Indigenous #Sami #Scandi #Wisdom #ASMR

Breeding Mushrooms 🍄♥️ the sexy, new science coming straight outta’ our lab 🌙 Joey, our lab manager and myco-wizard, has been delving into the hardcore world of mushroom genetics and breeding with our UK native Lion’s Mane 🔬 So, how on earth does this work? We hear you ask… Well, most of our mushrooms are dikaryon. Dikaryons are cells with two parent nuclei, happily paired, sharing hyphae, ready to be fed 🥰 (Netflix and chill kind of vibes). Joey has been successfully isolating Lion’s Mane monokaryons — hyphae containing a single nucleus that are searching for a mate 😍 (Dating apps/on the prowl kind of vibes). You can differentiate between the two by their growth strategies: one grows dead straight and the other winds around, branching across the agar plate. Can you tell which is which in the photos? 🧐 This is very early days, but the aim is to start cross-breeding monokaryons and selecting for weird, wonderful, and desirable traits - with higher medicinal properties first on the list. To be clear, there’s no genetic engineering here, just encouraging young lovers to come together and get weird and creative 🤩 Civilisations have been doing this for millennia: turning purple and white carrots orange, creating broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage from wild mustard, and making those UK strawberries so goddamn tasty 🍓 only difference being that we are breeding for maximum medicinal value rather than taste or appearance — and we’re only frickin’ doing it with fungi! So many peculiar possibilities! We’ve been dreaming about black Lion’s Mane 🖤💭 What new fantastical fungi creatures would you like to see? 🥳 #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn  #ScienceLed 🍄 🍄 🍄 #science #lab #breeding #genetics #fungi #mycology #wizard #labwizard #monokaryon #dikaryon #mushroommadness #lionsmane #hericiumerinaceus #hyphae #mycelium #medicinal #crossbreeding #sciencefiction #sciencefact #netflixandchill #ontheprowl #mycowizard #fantasticfungi #science #fungarium #localgrowers #localbreeders

The Ultimate Fun Guy Trio 🍄 Father’s Day is creeping ever closer (16th June) (you’re welcome 🫶🏻) and to help celebrate the father figure in your life, we’ve come up with a special new bundle 🙌🏼 Featuring Lion’s Mane, Chaga, and Cordyceps 🔥 Get the combined nootropic and adaptogenic benefits of both Lion’s Mane and Chaga as well as the energy-boosting properties of Cordyceps. They can be taken together for all-round immune modulation, stress management, digestive ease, mental clarity and performance ❤️ Think they’d prefer something different? Get 15% off with code: Fathers Day Father Tom and Father Henry I are taking theirs 🍄 #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn  #ScienceLed 🍄 🍄 🍄 #fathersday #justaroundthecorner #funguy #fungi #dude #dad #lionsmane #chaga #cordyceps #entourageeffect #nootropic #adaptogenic #energy #performance #immuneboost #immunity #wellness #health #digestion #mushrooms #medicinalmushrooms #functionalmushrooms #fungarium #fruitingbody #welovefungi #uknative

We’ve been waiting a long time to share this with you! 🥰🍄 Remember we mentioned we were cosponsoring a PhD Neuroscience student to collaborate on research into our native Lion’s mane strain and its potential effects on Neurodegenerative diseases? Well, after much ado last month we finally onboarded the wonderful Kaitlin Turk. Katie has a background in Translational Neuroscience & Psychology (along with a penchant for microbiology & mushrooms) and under the tutelage of Dr Tim Craig, Molecular Neuroscientist and Associate Professor at @uwebristol - will be looking at the Neuroprotective effects of our extracts. Needless to say, this is very exciting! 🥳 As far as we’re aware, this is the first study of its kind in the UK. While there have been many studies investigating the therapeutic potential of mushroom extracts in patients for a variety of conditions, our study will attempt to dissect out the precise molecular mechanisms behind any therapeutic effects, including identifying the compounds in question. This will hopefully pave the way for novel therapies for diseases which are currently incurable… This is the first of many steps down a long road - which is divided into 2 parts: ⚗️ Optimising the extraction process for the potentially therapeutic compounds in a variety of different mushrooms, using different techniques - including enzymatic assays, HPLC and gas chromatography to quantify the levels of different compounds. 🔬Testing the therapeutic potential of the mushroom extracts using cell systems. This work is all done in cells grown in a lab at UWE to enable us to look into: 🔥 Effects on inflammation 🧠 Neuroprotective effects 🧬 Activation/inhibition of different cell signalling pathways 🧫 Effects on growth and differentiation of cells ♻️ Metabolic effects All these markers are highly relevant to many diseases, from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s & Multiple Sclerosis to metabolic diseases such as Type-2 Diabetes and cancer. Pretty cool huh. Who wants to hear more? 👇🏼 #BristolFungarium #BristolBorn #ScienceLed 🍄 🍄 🍄 #neuroscience #mushrooms #brainhealth #neurology #psychology #mycology #science #fungi #research #phd #labwork