Effect of different cooking methods on the total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and sensory properties of wild Boletus edulis mushroom

Abstract

The effect of different culinary treatments (confit, grill, roast and marinate) on the nutritional composition, the content of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds, the antioxidant activity (evaluated by DPPH and FRAP assays) and the sensory properties (colour, texture and sensory analysis) of wild Boletus edulis (stipe and cap) was studied. The raw cap samples showed twice the protein content and 25% less carbohydrates than the stipe ones. All culinary treatments led to a significant reduction (p < 0.05) on phenolic compounds content and DPPH and FRAP antioxidant activity of the mushroom. This effect was even more pronounced when mushrooms were roasted or marinated. Similarly, most of the culinary treatments reduced the values for luminosity, hardness, gumminess and chewiness, except for grilled stipe and cap samples, which showed higher values of hardness and chewiness. Finally, marinated mushrooms were the worst scored samples in the sensory analysis for smell, flavor and texture attributes. Moreover, the samples of grilled stipe and those of confitted cap, presented in general, the highest scores.