FERMENTATION OF CEREALS AND LEGUMES BY MACROMYCETES: STATE OF THE ART AND CURRENT RESEARCH TRENDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/naturalspu/2025.2.1Keywords:
fermentation, cereals, legumes, macromycetes, biosynthetic activityAbstract
The article summarizes the latest data on the relevance and current state of research on cereal fermentation by macromycetes.This narrative review systematizes the results of fermentation of legumes (soybeans, lentils, beans), cereals (rice, wheat, barley, oats, sorghum, maize), and pseudocereals (quinoa) carried out by edible and medicinal species of macromycetes: Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola spp., Hericium spp., Lentinula edodes, Irpex lacteus, Pleurotus ostreatus. The role of macromycetes as a biotechnological tool that enables the modification of cereals, enhances their bioavailability, and enriches them with beneficial bioactive compounds is emphasized. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of changes in the chemical composition of fermented products, including the increase in amino acids, bioactive peptides, enzymes, and antioxidant compounds. The potential advantages of cereal fermentation by macromycetes for improving nutritional value and sensory properties, as well as the associated potential risks, are discussed.Fermentation technologies using macromycetes are considered separately, with a concise analysis of solid-state and submerged fermentation, their benefits, limitations, process conditions, and promising innovations for improving efficiency and industrial scalability. The presented results highlight the prospects of applying macromycetes for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals that align with the principles of innovation, sustainability, and modern healthy nutrition trends. The article generalizes the latest data on the biotechnological potential of macromycetes and may serve both as a theoretical and methodological foundation for further experimental research and as a basis for developing new directions of their practical application in food technologies.
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