Shrooms Help Gluten digestion?

The following article is interesting, because the maitake (a.k.a. Hen of the Woods) mushroom is prized in Asian medicine as an adaptogen (like ginseng, something that helps your body cope with stress) and I see people like Dr. Andrew Weil recommending it to do things like ward off colds.

Many mushrooms contain something called beta glucans, which are good for the immune system, and maitake is supposed to have one of the highest usable levels of beta glucans. And, like the ever healthful p'yogo mushroom prized by Korean (a.k.a. shitake), it taste deeeelicious.

And now researchers have found it might help GLUTEN digestion? How's that for anti-inflammatory??? I'm finding more and more that the my various (mostly female) relatives always exhorting: eat this, it's good for you (kimchi, mushrooms, bell flower roots, goji berries)! May be smarter than I gave them credit for--now I'm deeply humbled and always learning.

Proteases of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Responsible for Breakdown of
Wheat Flour Dough and Their Reaction with Gluten Proteins

Makoto ABE1) and Masaharu SEGUCHI2)

1) Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Intercultural Studies,
Gakushuin Women's College
2) Laboratory of Food Technology, Faculty of Home Economics, Kobe
Women's University

(Received April 7, 2003)
(Accepted May 15, 2003)

Two proteases capable of decreasing dough strength when added to
wheat flour were purified from Maitake and these were both thought
to be peptidyl-Lys metalloendopeptidase. The major purified protease
SP-3-A hydrolyzed high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits preferably
to the other glutenin subunits. SP-3-A cleaved peptide bonds
adjacent to the N-terminal of lysine in the high-molecular-weight
glutenin subunit.