STUDY OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS FOR IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH AND LIVELIHOODS SUPPORT IN BASTAR PLATEAU INDIA

Abstract

Chhattisgarh state has the huge diversity of mushroom flora among which some are edible. Present study was conducted in Bastar Plateau during rainy season for naturally grown wild edible mushrooms. Mushroom have become attractive as a functional food and as a source for the development of drugs and nutraceuticals responsible with their antioxidant, antitumor and antimicrobial properties. Besides their pharmacological features, mushrooms are becoming more important in our diet due to their nutritional value, related to high protein and low fat. There are so many types of fungi are present in Bastar palateu Chhattisgarh. Wild edible mushrooms are collected by tribal peoples for their food as well as livelihood support. Mushrooms are used as food supplement in various cultures and known for their edibility and delicacy for which, they are collected from wild and also cultivated. Nutritionally, edible mushrooms provide essential nutrients and contribute significantly to human diet & helth. Mushrooms are not only sources of nutrients but also have been reported as therapeutic foods, useful in preventing diseases such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and cancer etc. 30 village of 6 Tehsil covered under survey and 50 tribal/ rural peoples were contacted from different study villages and different local markets for information about wild edible mushroom at their surrounding locality. Information on wild edible mushrooms was collected from forests of Bastar plateau, Chhattisgarh by visiting different sites in forest areas. Tribal people were contacted and informations recorded by personal interviews. 16 fleshy mushrooms were identified and collected from Bastar Plateau of Chhattisgarh state during the study especially in mansoon season in the year 2021, two species of Termitomyces and Russula were predominantly observed from most of the locality in study area. We observed that environmental factors like rainfall, light, temperature, nutrients and relative humidity etc. Greatly influence the growth and development of mushrooms in the study area. In nature, mushrooms grow wild in almost all types of soils, on decaying organic matter, wooden stumps, and termite comb especially in Bastar plateau due to presence of red lateritic soil etc. They appear in all seasons; however rains favor rapid growth when organic matter or its decomposition products are easily available. This preliminary study shows that the Bastar forests and soils are very rich in mushroom diversity during rainy season in year.