Nutraceutical and Phytomedicinal Survey of Sclerotium of <i>Pleurotus Tuber-regium (ọsụ)</i>

Abstract

<i>Pleurotus tuber-regium</i> is an edible marcofungi found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and flourishes very well in South-Eastern Nigeria. The sclerotium (ọsụ) and the sporophores (ero) are edible non-poisonous marcofungi. The sclerotium of <i>Pleurotus tuberregium </i>is a compact dark brown mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves which help the fungi survive environmental extremes and it is viable for 7 years or more after harvest. Sclerotium of <i>Pleurotus tuber-regium</i> has been reported to have remarkable nutritional and medicinal values Nutritional, phytochemical and elemental analyses of sclerotium of <i>Pleurotus tuber-regium </i>have been investigated. The sclerotium was harvested from a decaying <i>Treculia africana</i> (breadfruit) tree. Proximate, phytochemical and GC-FID analyses were performed on the samples. Also, the elemental compositions of the sample was determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The nutritional compositions of the sclerotium were 57.27% of carbohydrate, 6.06% of fiber, 3.50% of protein, 1.24% of fat and 0.57% of ash, with approximately 31.36% of moisture content. The presence of flavonoids (43.14%), tannins (3.23%), saponins (14.28%), alkaloids (8.89%), phenolic (4.39%), steroids (8.79%), organo-oxygen (9.19%) and anti-nutrients (8.12%) were also detected. The major elements identified in the sample were phosphorus (9.278ppm), copper (8.454ppm), magnesium (7.844ppm), zinc (7.565ppm), iron (5.125ppm), calcium (4.996ppm), sodium (4.454ppm), potassium (3.226ppm), and selenium (2.454ppm). The sclerotium is rich in moisture and nutritional constituents with high concentrations of carbohydrate, fiber and protein. Most of the compounds identified in the sample have medicinal prowess and the major elements detected showed that the sclerotium is a good source of essential minerals.