Could extracts from a vegetable that are commonly seen in our salad drawers really boost your energy, sharpen your focus and help you cope with approaching burnout? Our wellness director explores the science behind functional mushrooms.
Walk into any leading wellness store right now, and there’s one particular supplement that is slowly taking over the shelves. It’s even giving collagen a run for its money in 2026! Let us introduce you to functional mushrooms.
Promising everything from a steadier energy boost than your traditional coffee to improved focus and greater resilience during periods of stress, these tinctures sound like a lifeline for anyone who feels like they are juggling it all between work, family life and travel. That’s why they’ve already found their way into the Citizen Femme office for testing.
But are functional mushrooms genuinely backed by science or simply the latest health fad to be aware of? And, if these mushrooms really are ‘magic’, does that mean they can get you ‘high’?
To find out, we spoke to Roxanne Pryor, founder & CEO of Superoom, who first discovered medicinal mushrooms after her own experience with burnout during her high-powered career in finance. She took us through the evidence (and considerations) behind the wellness trend.
So, here’s our guide to finding functional mushroom formulas that could actually be your new brain-boosting assistant.
What are functional mushrooms?
Using mushrooms as a natural brain-boosting remedy is actually nothing new. Specific types have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean medicine. Now, though, modern science is unlocking the reason why some varieties can have such a positive impact.
“Unlike culinary mushrooms, which we primarily eat for taste and nutrients, functional mushrooms are mushrooms that contain bioactive compounds capable of supporting specific physiological functions beyond basic nutrition,” explains Pryor. “These specific compounds have been studied for their potential roles in brain function, stress resilience, immune health, recovery, energy metabolism and healthy ageing.”
Some of the most common compounds you’ll hear about are beta-glucans, hericenones, triterpenes, ergothioneine, adenosine and cordycepin. Yes, they do have rather dinosaur-sounding names and you may feel yourself wanting to just skip over them. But it is actually worth keeping note. That’s because the benefits you want – and the mushroom you choose as a result – all come down to which of these important components is present and in what quantity.
“The key point is that mushrooms aren’t interesting because they’re mushrooms. They’re interesting because of the specific compounds inside some of them,” stresses Pryor. That’s why you couldn’t necessarily just pick up some button tops from your local supermarket and get the results you are aiming for.
Here are three standouts to watch out for:
For immunity: Beta-glucans
“Beta-glucans are naturally occurring polysaccharides found in mushroom cell walls, and they are a compound found across multiple species,” says Pryor. They are among the most studied compounds in medicinal mushrooms and are best known for their role in supporting your immune system.
For brain health: Hericenones
“Hericenones are unique compounds found primarily in the fruiting body of Lion’s Mane [a particular type of mushroom]. Researchers became interested in them because of their relationship with pathways associated with nerve growth factor (NGF), which plays an important role in maintaining healthy neurons,” reveals Pryor.
For tackling stress: Triterpenes
“Triterpenes are a major class of compounds found in Reishi. They are responsible for much of Reishi’s distinctive biological profile and have attracted scientific interest in areas such as stress resilience, immune regulation and healthy ageing.”
Five of the best, most-studied functional mushrooms
With those all-important compounds in mind, now it’s time to choose the right type of mushroom for you. Depending on whether you want some stress relief, protection against that 3pm slump or an immunity boost before you set foot on a plane, these are the five leading varieties for supporting resilience and wellbeing:
For focus: Lion’s Mane
When people talk about functional mushrooms for focus, memory and productivity, Lion’s Mane is usually the first name to come up. In fact, powered by those aforementioned hericenones, “Lion’s Mane has attracted significant interest because human studies have reported promising findings relating to cognition, memory, mood and mental wellbeing,” reveals Pyror.
For immunity: Turkey Tail
If immune health is your priority, Turkey Tail has one of the strongest research portfolios in the whole functional mushroom category. “Its beta-glucans and polysaccharides have been studied for decades, and it has a particularly strong body of research compared with many other functional mushrooms,” affirms Pyror.
For energy: Cordyceps
Often associated with exercise performance and energy, Cordyceps has become particularly popular among runners and anyone looking to support endurance naturally. As Pyror explains in more detail: “Cordyceps is studied for compounds such as adenosine and cordycepin, which have been investigated in relation to cellular energy production, oxygen utilisation and exercise performance.”
For stress: Reishi
Nicknamed the ‘queen of mushrooms’ and a star ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine, “Reishi is often associated with stress resilience, recovery and sleep quality, largely due to its unique triterpene profile and its long history of use as an adaptogenic mushroom,” says Pyror.
For longevity: Chaga
Chaga is perhaps the most ‘2026’ of the mushrooms, and that’s because it’s being studied through the lens of healthy ageing and longevity – the latter being a key wellness trend right now. “Chaga has become closely associated with healthy ageing and cellular resilience,” Pyror affirms. “Researchers are particularly interested in compounds such as ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant that accumulates in tissues exposed to high levels of oxidative stress and is being investigated for its potential role in mitochondrial health and longevity pathways.”
For the future: watch this space
What excites Pyror most about functional mushrooms, though, is that “there are thousands of mushroom species in nature and we’ve only scratched the surface of our understanding of their chemistry. I’m excited by the possibility that entirely new compounds, mechanisms and applications remain undiscovered. Just as pharmaceutical research continues to identify novel molecules from plants and fungi, I believe we’re only beginning to understand the therapeutic potential hidden within the fungal kingdom.”
What is the best way to use functional mushrooms?
Preparation is everything when it comes to functional mushrooms, not least because “simply consuming a mushroom doesn’t necessarily mean you’re accessing all the wanted compounds inside it,” reveals Pyror.
That’s because “most of a medicinal mushroom’s most valuable compounds are locked inside chitin-rich cell walls. Chitin is the same structural material found in shellfish shells, and humans are not particularly efficient at breaking it down,” continues Pyror. “This is why traditional cultures rarely consumed medicinal mushrooms raw. Instead, they prepared them as teas, broths, decoctions and tinctures to help release the compounds first.”
This is a process you’d need to copy yourself at home if you want to use the mushrooms as a raw ingredient; otherwise, you aren’t going to see the full benefits. But the functional mushroom trend has triggered a wave of innovative products that have done all the hard work for you – with mushroom-based compounds extracted and placed into powders, capsules and drops that you can simply add to your coffee, smoothies or soups.
Who can see the most benefits from functional mushroom use?
Stressed-out, multi-tasking women, rejoice! Functional mushrooms might be the wellness supplement for you: “I’d recommend them for busy professionals, frequent travellers, entrepreneurs, parents, athletes and people managing high levels of stress,” says Pryor.
That said, if you are looking for a really quick fix, this probably isn’t it. “If you are expecting the hit of a double espresso or an energy drink, you may be disappointed. That’s not what these mushrooms are designed to do,” warns Pryor. In fact, instead of giving you a jolt of energy or instant laser focus, you’ll feel the best benefits from using these mushroom tinctures consistently, which, although potentially annoying, is definitely the healthiest way to do anything when focusing on improving long-term wellbeing.
“It’s about helping people build resilience in a world that increasingly demands more from us,” emphasises Pyror – who set up her brand, Superoom for this very purpose. “We live in an age of constant stimulation, endless notifications and chronic stress. People are exhausted. I believe the future of health is proactive rather than reactive, and that small daily rituals can have a profound impact over time.”
Are mushrooms really safe? What about getting ‘high’ or poisonous ones?
You aren’t going to get ‘high’ from functional mushrooms, we promise! While over time these mushrooms can have a beneficial impact on your brain, significantly, they do not contain psilocybin – the compound that can alter perception, mood and consciousness, which gives psychedelic – or ‘magic’ – mushrooms their hallucinogenic properties.
As for danger – leading brands will independently test their batches both for potency and safety, so they have done the hard work for you. You would only really need to be careful if you went wild foraging for mushrooms, which is why that is not recommended for beginners without expert guidance.
How to find functional mushrooms that work?
Not all functional mushroom tinctures are made equal, so here’s a quick guide to our favourites:
Born from lived experience, expert knowledge, and the desire to bridge the gap between health and everyday life. MOGU’s organic drink blends and capsules are carefully formulated using the highest quality organic functional mushrooms and superfoods, with quality, potency, and experience in mind. They support focus, steady energy, calm, sleep, and long-term resilience holistically as a system, designed for real modern stress, not caffeine-driven quick fixes. Founded on the principle of food as medicine, the brand brings together Chinese Medicine wisdom and modern science, alongside a minimalist ingredients list.
Our beauty director's top pick – and the reason she wanted to speak to Pyror for this piece. Not only are Superoom's clinical-grade mushroom extracts some of the most highly scientifically supported on the market right now, but the liquid drops make giving yourself a brain boost simple and even a bit chic. Completely tasteless, you can add them to your coffee, water, smoothies or evening drinks, and for mental performance (specifically clarity without the caffeine jitters) you really can't go wrong with the Lion's Mane tincture.
Want to get even more bang for your buck when it comes to your supplement routine (and not have to take about 10 tablets in the process)? Revive Collagen is supercharging your morning and evening rituals by combining its signature marine collagen with functional mushrooms, specifically lion's mane, reishi and chaga. That means you get the mind-focusing prowess of the mushrooms, teamed with skin benefits, so you can look and feel your best, always.
Busy lives require a quick and easy supplement routine to match, which is why FAQ+ has packed quite the list of skin, energy, digestion and longevity-boosting ingredients into its green powder. That includes five super mushrooms (Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake, Lion’s Mane and Oyster), which together with supergreens, NAD+, magnesium and creatine, provide a 360-degree approach to boosted wellbeing.
The perfect upgrade to your morning coffee, Spacegoods has transformed its best-selling functional coffee powder, aptly named Rainbow Dust, into an on-the-go option, blending iced oat milk coffee with functional adaptogens and mushrooms, specifically Lion's Mane and Ashwagandha. It's a great way to dip your toe into the functional mushroom trend; it's sold in packs of 12 so you can feel the prolonged benefits of consistent use.
Becki Murray is Citizen Femme’s Beauty and Wellness Director. As one of the only UK journalists to hold a Distinction-grade diploma in cosmetic science, she combines her unique knowledge with an editor’s eye to help you make smarter choices about beauty and wellbeing. Becki also heads up CF’s spa guide so you could say she’s an expert in the science of relaxation too…
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