Abstract
Lignocellulosic wastes are low-cost, renewable, plentiful, and are a good natural resource for bioenergy and many other useful products. The cost of conversion is high; therefore, scientists are trying to develop cost-effective methods to transform these tough to degrade raw materials into value-added products having different applications. Large amounts of lignocellulosic wastes are produced as residues from agriculture and agroforestry sectors. The global annual generation of lignocellulosic wastes is in the order of 140 gigatons and presents significant management problems. They are generally burnt or left as garbage leading to air pollution and deterioration of soil and water quality. Value addition of these wastes using cost-effective techniques would lead to better utilization of these wastes. The bioconversion of lignocellulosic wastes through mushroom cultivation offers an ecologically sound alternative to convert these wastes into protein-rich foods and thus reduce pollution. Mushrooms are good sources of crude soluble fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and contain no starch, and have low calorific value. They are considered a good replacement for meat and their nutritional values are at par with several vegetables. Commercially available mushrooms are generally cultivated on lignocellulosic wastes such as wood chips, sawdust, and straw, thus, converting wastes into high-quality food to provide better nutrition and medicines to humankind. Mushroom cultivation also results in different by-products having application in different fields viz. development of nutraceutical as well as pharmaceutical formulations. Besides, these by-products could be used as animal feed, fertilizer, energy production, making cosmetics, and bioremediation. This chapter highlights how various lignocellulosic wastes can be value-added, especially employing mushroom cultivation, and summarizes other value-added products of mushrooms too.
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