Macrofungi as Medicinal Resources in Uzbekistan: Biodiversity, Ethnomycology and Ethnomedicinal Knowledge

Basidiomycete macrofungi are ecological and economic resources for their pathogenic, nutritional and medicinal properties. The current study aimed at the continuous study of biodiversity, taxonomic composition, and formation of a modern list and distribution of medicinal mushrooms in Uzbekistan. This study focuses on collecting data on the uses of specific species in traditional and modern medicine around the world. In 2022, 17 species of basidiomycetous macrofungi of great ethnomycological interest from 10 families and sixteen genera have been identified, possessing edible and medicinal properties as Polyporaceae, Hymenochaetaceae Ganodermataceae, Fomitopsidaceae, Auriculariaceae, Cerrenaceae, Grifolaceae, Meruliaceae, Schizophyllaceae, and Stereaceae. This overview is also valuable scientific information on the uses of medicinal fungi in folk and modern medicine by the peoples of Uzbekistan. Even more important is the start of work on the study of medicinal mushrooms in less studied territories, as well as the initiation of large-scale ethnobiological research in other regions of Uzbekistan and countries of Central Asia, namely mushrooms in traditional and non-traditional uses of mushrooms in medicinal practices. In addition to emphasizing that they are used in medicine, it must be recognized that the creation of a national ethnobiological database is strongly recommended.