Consumption of Sun-Exposed Oyster Mushrooms Help Patients Fight Tuberculosis

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease that usually affects the lungs leading to severe coughing, fever, and chest pains. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of consuming sun-exposed mushrooms on the treatment outcomes of TB Methods: Participants were TB patients and categorized into block-1 (32) and block-2 (32) based on their willingness to consume sandwich bread containing sun-exposed oyster mushrooms. Blood and sputum samples were taken at the beginning (Day 0) and end of the study (4th month). Assays of 25-hydroxy (OH) D, cytokines, LL-37, and CRP were performed using Enzyme Linked- Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique, and mycobacterial cultures were performed using Lowenstein Jensen media. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Consumption of the sandwich bread induced a 27.8% increase in the mean serum 25(OH)D level with 35.5% and 32.3% reduction in the proportion of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and insufficiency (VDI), respectively. There were progressive changes in TB score (mean } SD of 2.6 } 1.8; 95% CI of 1.95 to 3.17; p<0.001) and Karnofsky performance status scale (80.3 } 6.9%, p < 0.001) with significant improvements in IFN-γ and LL-37 levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: Consumption of sun-exposed oyster mushrooms effectively improved the deficiencies of vitamin D in TB patients. The accelerated improvements on the clinical and immunological outcomes give us a clue that sun-exposed oyster mushrooms could serve as a potential, safe, easily available, and affordable adjunctive treatment and help patients fight TB. Keywords: Sun-exposure; Mushrooms; Vitamin D; Tuberculosis; Treatment outcomes