Abstract
Knowledge of the chemical composition of both wild and cultivated edible mushrooms in Ghana is limited. This study reports their nutritional value, composition in lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules, minerals and antioxidant properties. The samples were found to be nutritionally rich in carbohydrates, ranging from 64.14 ± 0.93 g in Pleurotus ostreatus strain EM-1 to 80.17 ± 0.34 g in Lentinus squarrosulus strain LSF. The highest level of proteins (28.40 ± 0.86 g) was recorded in the mentioned P. ostreatus strain. Low fat contents were registered in the samples, with Auricularia auricula recording the lowest value. High levels of potassium were also observed with the following decreasing order of elements: K > P ~ Na > Mg > Ca. High levels of antioxidants were also observed, thus making mushrooms suitable to be used as functional foods or nutraceutical sources. Furthermore, this study provides new information regarding chemical properties of mushrooms from Ghana, which is very important for the biodiversity characterization of this country.
Highlights
Wild mushrooms are considered a popular delicacy in several countries all over the world and are collected and consumed when in season
In the present study five cultivated and two wild mushroom samples were evaluated for their nutritional value, composition in lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules, minerals, and antioxidant properties to ascertain their values for the nutraceutical and food industries
The total fat found in P. sajor-caju and P. ostreatus is lower than the values reported for samples cultivated on banana and rice straw, respectively, 5.26 and 4.99 g/100 g for P. sajor-caju, and
Summary
Wild mushrooms are considered a popular delicacy in several countries all over the world and are collected and consumed when in season. Termitomyces, which is the most preferred and cherished in the country and in many African and Asian countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Thailand and Taiwan, cannot be currently cultivated as its cultivation is difficult because of the very specific condition under which it grows in Nature It grows naturally, in symbiotic association with termites known as “fungus growers” (Macrotermitinae), which grow about 30 species of this genus worldwide [4]. Since 1990, cultivation of mushrooms in Ghana, has mainly been for oyster mushrooms such as Pleurotus ostreatus, P. sajor-caju, and woodear mushrooms (Auricularia spp.) and quite recently, on an experimental basis, Lentinus squarrosulus These have been cultivated on composted sawdust of Triplochiton scleroxylon and or mixtures with Chlorophora excelsa. In the present study five cultivated and two wild mushroom samples were evaluated for their nutritional value, composition in lipophilic (saturated and unsaturated fatty acids) and hydrophilic (free sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds) molecules, minerals (macroand micro-elements), and antioxidant properties (free radical scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition) to ascertain their values for the nutraceutical and food industries
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