There are more than 2,000 species of edible fungi and at least 15 have functional benefits that support overall health. Like other superfoods, functional mushrooms have antioxidant properties that support the immune system, dietary fiber to aid in healthy digestion and numerous other benefits to everything from mental clarity to skin health.
At the same time, there has been a growing interest in psychedelic mushrooms, such as psilocybin, for the treatment of a wide range of mental health disorders. The FDA has already granted breakthrough therapy status to several clinical trial candidates while reports suggest that the global functional mushroom market could reach $34.3 billion by 2024.
Pure Extracts Technologies Corp. (CSE: PULL) (XFRA: A2QJAJ) has recognized these trends and begun to expand its business model to include mushroom formulations through the use of extraction processes that have proven compatible with its existing infrastructure.
Let’s take a closer look at these plans and why investors should pay close attention.
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Functional Mushroom Products
Pure Extracts has built a business around extracting cannabinoids from hemp and cannabis plants. After several inquiries about functional mushrooms, the Company has begun expanding its efforts to develop pill, capsule and edible products from lion’s mane, turkey tail, reishi and other products both under its own brand and on behalf of third parties.
“Moving into the field of mushroom extractions is an obvious and exciting opportunity to leverage our advanced technology and proven capabilities,” said CEO Ben Nikolaevsky. “We look forward to launching our functional products commercially in the next few months and can’t help but to see similarities to the cannabis sector.”
The Company’s in-house Pure Mushrooms brand will begin selling products by the end of the first quarter of next year through direct-to-consumer means, including its capital-efficient e-commerce portal. In addition, the Company signed a LOI with one of Canada’s leading functional mushroom wellness brands to co-develop CBD-enhanced mushroom products.
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Expansion into Psychedelics
Psychedelic medicine has become one of the hottest areas of medicine. While psychedelics were formerly off-limits to researchers, the liberalization of drug laws put psychedelic medicines into the hands of researchers that have discovered a potentially far-reaching mechanism of action in the treatment of numerous mental health disorders.
Pure Extracts plans to eventually enter the growing field of psychedelic mushroom processing as an additional part of its diverse extraction market penetration strategy. CEO Nikolaevsky said that he sees similarities to the cannabis sector regarding the pathways to both medicinal and recreational legalization within the burgeoning space.
Psilocybin has already shown tremendous promise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and addiction. With the FDA supportive of clinical trials, the first approved products could begin to reach patients by next year, when commercialization will begin to take place.
Looking Ahead
Pure Extracts Technology Corp. (CSE: PULL) (XFRA: A2QJAJ) has already built an impressive operation targeting cannabis and hemp extraction and is beginning to position itself to take advantage of the demand for functional mushroom extracts. With an initial focus on functional mushrooms, management plans on eventually reaching into the nascent psychedelics space.
For more information, visit the Company’s website or download their investor presentation.
