This Mushroom Is the Bitterest Thing on Earth, Say Scientists
In a breakthrough study, scientists at the Technical University of Munich have identified the most bitter substance ever discovered—and it comes from a mushroom.
The culprit? Amaropostia stiptica, more commonly known as the bitter bracket fungus. Though widely found in the UK and not harmful to humans, it contains compounds that make it astonishingly bitter.
Researchers extracted three compounds from the mushroom and tested their effects on human taste receptors. One compound in particular, oligoporin D, stood out for its intensity.
How intense? Just one gram of oligoporin D is enough to be tasted when diluted in 106 bathtubs of water.
Despite its extreme bitterness, the compound isn’t toxic. It interacts with specific bitter receptors in the mouth—the same kind that help us detect potentially dangerous substances in nature.
The findings, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, offer new insight into how humans perceive bitterness and why. Bitter taste, one of the five basic taste sensations, may play a bigger role in digestion and health than previously thought.
Lead scientist Dr. Maik Behrens explained that this discovery could pave the way for creating functional foods that are both healthy and palatable, particularly those that support digestion and satiety.
Interestingly, bitter receptors aren’t limited to the mouth—they’re also found in the stomach, intestines, heart, and lungs, suggesting a broader biological purpose.
This study also opens the door to deeper exploration of mushrooms in taste research—an area less studied than bitter compounds in plants.
Read Also: