Integrated morphological with molecular identification and bioactive compounds of 23 Croatian wild mushrooms samples

Black Trumpet [Craterellus cornucopioides (L.) Pers.]-Bioactive Properties and Prospects for Application in Medicine and Production of Health-Promoting Food

Black trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) is a mushroom present in many countries but underestimated. The aim of this publication is to present the latest state of knowledge about the chemical composition and bioactivity of C. cornucopioides and the possibility of its application in food. According to researchers, black trumpet is very rich in nutritional compounds, including unsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic and linoleic acids), β-glucans, minerals, and vitamins as well as polyphenols and tannins. It also contains compounds influencing the sensory properties, like free amino acids and nucleotides as well as sugars and polyols, mainly mannitol. Many of the described components show high nutritional and bioactive properties. Therefore, C. cornucopioides shows antioxidant activity and immunostimulating, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects as well as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antihyperglycemic effects. This makes black trumpet, also called horn of plenty, a mushroom with great potential for use both in medicine and directly in food. So far, black trumpet is not widely used in food, especially processed food. There are only a few studies on the use of dried black trumpet in sausages, but there is great potential for its use in food.

Characterization of the Slovene Autochthonous Rose Hybrid Rosa pendulina × spinosissima (Rosa reversa Waldst. and Kit) Using Biochemical Patterns of the Plant Blossoms

The Rosa genus is characterized by great variability and, consequently, they easily hybridize. The petals of R. pendulina, R. spinosissima and their hybrid Rosa pendulina × spinosissima, collected in western Slovenia, were included in the research. We performed morphometric analysis using keys to determine roses and genetic analysis to determine the genome size. The phenolic compound content in petals of all rose flowers was measured by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Using flow cytometry, we could confirm the native hybridization process due to the amount of 2C DNA. The value of R. pendulina was 1.71 pg, of R. spinosissima 1.60 pg and of the hybrid 1.62 pg. The value for the hybrid was close to values measured for parent plants and, at the same time, those values of parent plants significantly differed from each other. Our results showed that the content of phenolic compounds in petals decreased after crossing. We found that the highest total phenolic content (178.9 g/kg FW) was measured in R. spinossisima, the lowest content was analyzed for the hybrid (84.36 g/kg FW) and the content for R. pendulina was between these two values (110.58 g/kg FW). The content of flavanols and flavonols was lowest in the hybrid petals, whereas the content of anthocyanins was highest in the hybrid petals.

Structural Features and Immunomodulatory Effects of Water-Extractable Polysaccharides from Macrolepiota procera (Scop.) Singer

Macrolepiota procera (MP) is an edible mushroom used in the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and inflammation. However, the structure and biological effects of its polysaccharides (PSs) are unclear. This study investigates the structural features of a PS complex from MP (MP-PSC), its immunomodulatory activities and effects on probiotic and pathogenic bacteria. MP-PSC was obtained by boiling water, and PSs were characterized by 2D NMR spectroscopy. The immunomodulatory effects on blood and derived neutrophils, other leukocytes, and murine macrophages were studied by flow cytometry, chemiluminescence, spectrophotometry, and ELISA. The total carbohydrate content of MP-PSC was 74.2%, with glycogen occupying 36.7%, followed by β-D-glucan, α-L-fuco-2-(1,6)-D-galactan, and β-D-glucomannan. MP-PSC (200 μg/mL) increased the number of CD14+ monocyte cells in the blood, after ex vivo incubation for 24 h. It dose-dependently (50-200 μg/mL) activated the spontaneous oxidative burst of whole blood phagocytes, NO, and interleukin 6 productions in RAW264.7 cells. MP-PSC exhibited a low antioxidant activity and failed to suppress the oxidative burst and NO generation, induced by inflammatory agents. It (2.0%, w/v) stimulated probiotic co-cultures and hindered the growth and biofilm development of Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mutans and Salmonella enterica. MP PSs can be included in synbiotics to test their immunostimulating effects on compromised immune systems and gut health.

A Contribution to Knowledge of Craterellus (Hydnaceae, Cantharellales) in China: Three New Taxa and Amended Descriptions of Two Previous Species

Species of Craterellus (Hydnaceae, Cantharellales) in China are investigated on the basis of morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from nuc 28S rDNA D1-D2 domains (28S) and nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region. Five species are recognized in China, of which three of them are described as new, viz. C. fulviceps, C. minor, and C. parvopullus, while two of them are previously described taxa, viz. C. aureus, and C. lutescens. A key to the known Chinese taxa of the genus is also provided.

Edible Mushrooms for Sustainable and Healthy Human Food: Nutritional and Medicinal Attributes

Global food production faces many challenges, including climate change, a water crisis, land degradation, and desertification. These challenges require research into non-traditional sources of human foods. Edible mushrooms are considered an important next-generation healthy food source. Edible mushrooms are rich in proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive components (alkaloids, lactones, polysaccharides, polyphenolic compounds, sesquiterpenes, sterols, and terpenoids). Several bioactive ingredients can be extracted from edible mushrooms and incorporated into health-promoting supplements. It has been suggested that several human diseases can be treated with extracts from edible mushrooms, as these extracts have biological effects including anticancer, antidiabetic, antiviral, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, immune-potentiating, and hypo-cholesterolemic influences. The current study focuses on sustainable approaches for handling edible mushrooms and their secondary metabolites, including biofortification. Comparisons between edible and poisonous mushrooms, as well as the common species of edible mushrooms and their different bioactive ingredients, are crucial. Nutritional values and the health benefits of edible mushrooms, as well as different biomedical applications, have been also emphasized. Further research is needed to explore the economic sustainability of different medicinal mushroom bioactive compound extracts and their potential applications against emerging diseases such as COVID-19. New approaches such as nano-biofortification are also needed to supply edible mushrooms with essential nutrients and/or to increase their bioactive ingredients.

A New Deep Learning Model for the Classification of Poisonous and Edible Mushrooms Based on Improved AlexNet Convolutional Neural Network

The difficulty involved in distinguishing between edible and poisonous mushrooms stems from their similar appearances. In this study, we attempted to classify five common species of poisonous and edible mushrooms found in Thailand, Inocybe rimosa, Amanita phalloides, Amanita citrina, Russula delica, and Phaeogyroporus portentosus, using the convolutional neural network (CNN) and region convolutional neural network (R-CNN). This study was motivated by the yearly death toll from eating poisonous mushrooms in Thailand. In this research, a method for the classification of edible and poisonous mushrooms was proposed and the testing time and accuracy of three pretrained models, AlexNet, ResNet-50, and GoogLeNet, were compared. The proposed model was found to reduce the duration required for training and testing while retaining a high level of accuracy. In the mushroom classification experiments using CNN and R-CNN, the proposed model demonstrated accuracy levels of 98.50% and 95.50%, respectively.

Distribution and Origin of Major, Trace and Rare Earth Elements in Wild Edible Mushrooms: Urban vs. Forest Areas

This paper investigates the composition of major, trace, and rare earth elements in 15 different species of wild edible mushrooms and the possible effect of urban pollution on elemental uptake. The collected mushrooms include different species from the green areas of the city, exposed to urban pollution, and from the forests, with limited anthropogenic influence. Through a comprehensive approach that included the analysis of 46 elements, an attempt was made to expand knowledge about element uptake by mushroom fruiting bodies. The results showed a wide variability in the composition of mushrooms, suggesting a number of factors influencing their element uptake capacity. The data obtained do not indicate significant exposure to anthropogenic influences, regardless of sampling location. While major elements’ levels appear to be influenced more by species-specific affinities, this is not true for trace elements, whose levels presumably reflect the geochemical characteristics of the sampling site. However, the risk assessment showed that consumption of excessive amounts of the mushrooms studied, both from urban areas and from forests, may have adverse health effects.

Identification and analyses of the chemical composition of a naturally occurring albino mutant chanterelle

White chanterelles (Basidiomycota), lacking the orange pigments and apricot-like odour of typical chanterelles, were found recently in the Canadian provinces of Québec (QC) and Newfoundland & Labrador (NL). Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identification of all white chanterelles from NL and QC as Cantharellus enelensis; we name these forma acolodorus. We characterized carotenoid pigments, lipids, phenolics, and volatile compounds in these and related chanterelles. White mutants of C. enelensis lacked detectable β-carotene, confirmed to be the primary pigment of wild-type, golden-orange individuals, and could also be distinguished by their profiles of fatty acids and phenolic acids, and by the ketone and terpene composition of their volatiles. We detected single base substitutions in the phytoene desaturase (Al-1) and phytoene synthase (Al-2) genes of the white mutant, which are predicted to result in altered amino acids in their gene products and may be responsible for the loss of β-carotene synthesis in that form.

Rapid and Visual Identification of Chlorophyllum molybdites With Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method

Chlorophyllum molybdites is a kind of common poisonous mushroom in China that is widely distributed in different areas. Food poisoning caused by accidentally eating C. molybdites has become more frequent in recent years. In 2019, there were 55 food poisoning incidents caused by eating this mushroom in China. Mushroom poisoning continues to be a common health issue of global concern. When mushroom poisoning occurs, an effective, simple, and rapid detection method is required for accurate clinical treatment or forensic analysis. For the first time, we established a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the visual detection of C. molybdites. A set of specific LAMP primers was designed, and the specificity was confirmed against 43 different mushroom species. The LAMP method could detect as low as 1 pg of genomic DNA. Boiled mushrooms and artificial gastric-digested mushroom samples were prepared to test the applicability of the method, and the results showed that as low as 1% C. molybdites in boiled and digested samples could be successfully detected. The LAMP method can also be completed within 45 min, and the reaction results could be directly observed based on a color change under daylight by the naked eye. Therefore, the LAMP assay established in this study provides an accurate, sensitive, rapid, and low-cost method for the detection of C. molybdites.