Naturally-occurring β-glucans are mostly investigated for their antitumor activity and immunomodulatory property. They have been widely regarded as a natural source for functional foods and pharmaceuticals. However, the physico-chemically stable and biocompatible properties of β-glucans are rarely explored as a coating material for nanomaterials to overcome the problems of aggregation and cytotoxicity. This article reviews on the exploration of β-glucans, in particular those derived from mushrooms, as a natural coating material to modify the surface properties of bioactive substances as a relatively simple and cost-effective strategy to produce stable and biocompatible nanohybrids used for biopharmaceutical use. It is envisaged that such β-glucan-based coating method will provide new opportunities to design biocompatible functional nanomaterials for wider clinical applications.

Dietary fiber and high-fiber food products have attracted great attention because of their significant health benefits to consumers. Mushrooms are valuable resources for food, medicine and nutraceuticals. Edible mushroom is considered as a novel source of dietary fiber. The dietary fiber content and composition in edible mushroom vary greatly with its morphological stages including fruit body, mycelium and sclerotium. The focus of this mini-review is on the preparation of dietary fiber from edible mushroom with emphasis on the sclerotium which has the highest level of non-starch polysaccharides. The possible health benefits of mushroom dietary fiber in relationship with boosting the immune system, anticancer functions as well as the control of blood lipids and glucose levels are also discussed.