Influence of varying preservation methods on the shelf life and proximate composition of Pleurotus plumonarius (Fr) Quel cultivated on Andropogon gayanus substrate

Abstract

The objective of the work was to evaluate the influence of preservation methods on the storability and proximate composition of Pleurotus pulmonarius. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. Freshly harvested mushrooms grown on Andropogon gayanus substrate and analyzed for its proximate composition were divided into four portions: sun dried (SD), oven dried (OV), blanched and stored directly in citric acid solution at varying concentrations (conc.). The microbial load count of the preserved samples and sensory evaluation carried out were significant (P<0.05) with sun and oven dried samples most preserved followed by blanched samples stored in citric acid solutions, with 0.5% conc. taking the lead. The proximate results showed that the protein, fat, and ash contents of mushroom preserved in citric acid solution decreased while sun and oven dried samples increased significantly with increase in fibre and carbohydrate. The result of the sensory evaluation on colour, texture and flavour showed that blanched sample stored in 0.5% citric acid solution was most preferred for colour, odour and texture.