The Spice Must Flow: Solving flowability in freeze-dried bioactive-rich mushroom tincture powders

<jats:p>Poorly flowing nutritional supplement powders are problematic both during production and for the consumer experience, leading to product waste and economic loss. This is a particular problem for materials generated from glycoside and protein-rich extracts such as mushroom powders. As there is an interest in keeping “clean” labels, free from non-endogenous additives, we explore the benefits of adding mushroom protein powder (MPP) to improve the physical properties and solubility of lyophilized powders derived from three common nutraceutical mushroom extracts (Hericium erinaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, and Cordyceps). The target parameters included bulk and tapped densities, angle of repose, Hausner ratio, Carr’s index. In addition, the free solubility in water, and the bio-active content of the products were evaluated. The inclusion of between 2–5% of MPP improved flowability at the slight cost of decreased solubility. When these products were compared to commercial samples, we found our materials were considerably more flowable and far richer in the primary nutrients of interest: β-glucan, ergosterol and ganoderic acid A. The study suggests that a consumer-friendly product meeting interests in a clean label can still provide a very rich product. The study also casts doubt on the nutritional content of commercial nutraceuticals and provides additional caution and evidence that the market should be more closely regulated to protect the consumer.</jats:p>