Functional Role of Macrofungi as Prebiotics and Health Perspectives

Mushrooms have been used since centuries as source of food and also as important part of folk medicine in many ancient cultures. Nowadays, with the increased awareness’s of the importance of healthy food, mushrooms become one of the main components of healthy food food and food supplements. In addition to the known functional role in prevention and treatment of many diseases, recent research find also that it includes also many nutrients which can act as prebiotic. This plays crucial role as natural supplement to provide healthy growth of human and animal through supporting the growth of microbiome and thus, increase the functional role of probiotics. This chapter will highlight the recent development of mushroom research as functional prebiotic source for both human and animal health.