What does “10:1” actually mean on a mushroom liquid?
You may see mushroom liquids advertised as 10:1, 20:1 or even 100:1 extracts.
Those numbers sound like a simple measure of strength. But for a finished liquid, they are difficult to compare unless the manufacturer clearly explains exactly how the ratio was calculated.
A ratio such as 10:1 traditionally describes the relationship between the amount of raw material used and the amount of finished dry extract produced.
For example:
10 kg of mushroom → 1 kg of dried extract = 10:1
With liquids, things become much less clear.
Does 10:1 mean 10 kg of mushrooms per litre of finished liquid? Does it refer to a concentrated extract made earlier in the process and then diluted with starches and liquid? Does it refer to a dry-equivalent amount? Was water or alcohol added afterwards?
Without that information, two products carrying the same “10:1” claim may be completely different in their final concentration.
More importantly, the amount of mushroom a manufacturer says they used is still only an input claim. You cannot independently verify it.
That is why Ninth Path does not use extraction ratios as the primary way to compare mushroom products.
We focus on what can actually be verified
Our preferred universal comparison is independently tested fungal beta-glucans in the finished product.
Why?
Because ALL mushrooms naturally contain fungal beta-glucans, and these can be measured in the actual bottle or powder being sold.
That gives customers a common, verifiable basis for comparing products across different manufacturers, extraction methods and marketing claims.
A company may say it used:
500 g of mushrooms per litre
or
1,000 g per litre
or
a 50:1 extract
But unless the finished product is independently tested, the customer still has no objective way of knowing how much measurable mushroom-derived material actually ended up in it.
Fungal beta-glucan testing changes that.
It lets you ask:
How much independently verified fungal beta-glucan is present in the finished product?
And then:
How much am I paying for that verified amount?
That is far more useful than comparing extraction ratios that may have been calculated in completely different ways.
The important distinction
Extraction ratios tell you something about the manufacturer’s claimed process. Fungal beta-glucan testing tells you something about the product you are actually buying.
The problem with extraction ratios becomes even murkier when an Australian retailer is simply repeating information supplied by an overseas manufacturer.
The company making the extract may be thousands of kilometres away, operating under a different legal system, with very little practical exposure to the Australian customer if a production claim later turns out to be inaccurate.
The retailer may be repeating the information in good faith, but the customer is still being asked to trust a chain of claims that can be extremely difficult to audit.
When the grower, extractor, importer and retailer are different businesses in different countries, accountability becomes diluted.
Who is actually standing behind the claim that a product is 10:1 or 100:1?
The retailer?
The importer?
The overseas manufacturer who knows it is unlikely they will be sued if they lie to a small business in Australia?
A number on a specification sheet can travel through several businesses before it reaches the customer.
An independent laboratory result on the finished product cuts through that chain.
It does not require you to trust what someone says happened in a factory overseas. The laboratory tests the product sitting in the bottle and reports what is actually there.
Extraction ratios rely on a story based on how the product was made. Independent testing examines the product that was actually made.
That is why we believe independently verified fungal beta-glucans provide a much better universal basis for comparing mushroom products.
And one final point: make sure the test is specifically for fungal beta-glucans, not generic beta-glucans. Generic beta-glucan figures can also include beta-glucans from grains or other non-mushroom sources.
For liquids, don’t be impressed by the ratio. Compare what can actually be verified in the finished bottle.