Research > Rainforest > Edible and medicinal fungi

The tropical rainforest of Madre de Dios hosts a great diversity of fungus species with a high economic potential due to their nutritional and medicinal benefits. However, there are technological limitations to secure quality control and to nurture genetically pure fungal strains that would allow production in a commercial scale.

 Through a strategic Alliance with the National Fund for Scientific, Technological and Innovation Development (FONDECYT) and the National Amazonian University of Madre de Dios (UNAMAD), Inkaterra Asociación (ITA) is developing the subproject “Isolation, barcoding and production technology for wild Amazonian fungi for the gastronomy industry in Tambopata, Madre de Dios.”

This project’s main goal is to identify, conserve and establish a strain bank for edible and medicinal Amazonian fungi. This basis of genetic resources aims to promote its sustainable use and conservation to enhance local research and scientific innovation.

Dr. Mishari García Roca conducts scientific studies on the subject. As preliminary results on field collections performed by ITA and Fundo El Bosque, identifying 342 morph-species (238 at the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve and 150 at El Bosque), 102 genera, 38 families, 13 orders and 2 divisions. An evidence of the extraordinary fungal diversity in studied areas.