Phenolics and antioxidant activity of a ready‐to‐eat snack food prepared from the edible mushroom (Agaricus bisporous)

Immunomodulatory Effects of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms and Their Bioactive Immunoregulatory Products

Mushrooms have been valued as food and health supplements by humans for centuries. They are rich in dietary fiber, essential amino acids, minerals, and many bioactive compounds, especially those related to human immune system functions. Mushrooms contain diverse immunoregulatory compounds such as terpenes and terpenoids, lectins, fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) and polysaccharides. The distributions of these compounds differ among mushroom species and their potent immune modulation activities vary depending on their core structures and fraction composition chemical modifications. Here we review the current status of clinical studies on immunomodulatory activities of mushrooms and mushroom products. The potential mechanisms for their activities both in vitro and in vivo were summarized. We describe the approaches that have been used in the development and application of bioactive compounds extracted from mushrooms. These developments have led to the commercialization of a large number of mushroom products. Finally, we discuss the problems in pharmacological applications of mushrooms and mushroom products and highlight a few areas that should be improved before immunomodulatory compounds from mushrooms can be widely used as therapeutic agents.

Effect of Edible Coating on Antioxidants and Certain Properties of Dried Jerusalem Artichoke

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Most food industries try to solve the problem of dried food quality by using optimum pre-treatments before subjecting to hot air drying. The edible coating is considerably extended shelf-life of dried foods. The objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of edible coating agents (modified cassava starch and sodium caseinate) on properties of dried Jerusalem artichoke (JA) slices.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pieces of the sample were coated by dipping in the coating solution for 10 min both for atmospheric coating (AC) and vacuum coating (VC). The weight ratio of the sample to the solution was 1:2. The VC was conducted in a closed desiccator connected to a vacuum pump with a residual pressure of 150 m bar controlled during 10 min of dipping.

RESULTS

The coating agents resulted in improvements in product qualities. Browning and shrinkage were reduced significantly (p<0.05). The antioxidant properties were similar between a hot air-dried product and a freeze-dried product. There was no observed benefit of using vacuum pressure rather than atmospheric pressure. Sensory acceptance of coated products was similar to that of an uncoated product.

CONCLUSION

The edible coating with modified cassava starch or sodium caseinate was, therefore, an efficient pre-treatment and could be applied with conventional drying to produce healthy fruit and vegetable snacks by using a simple and inexpensive method.

(1-3)(1-6)-β-glucan-enriched materials from Lentinus edodes mushroom as a high-fibre and low-calorie flour substitute for baked foods

BACKGROUND

Extensive physiological and biological emphasis has been placed on pharmaceutical and medicinal uses of mushrooms containing β-glucans, but their incorporation into processed functional foods is quite limited. Thus, low-grade Lentinus edodes mushrooms were utilised to produce β-glucan-enriched materials (BGEMs), which were evaluated as a high-fibre and low-calorie substitute for wheat flour.

RESULTS

The fractions obtained from Lentinus edodes mushrooms contained 514 g kg⁻¹ of (1-3)-β-glucans with (1-6)-β-linked side chains and the chemical structure was confirmed by ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. Replacement of a portion of the wheat flour with BGEMs resulted in the solutions with lower values of pasting parameters and also caused significant changes in starch gelatinisation. When BGEMs were incorporated into cake formulations, batter viscosity increased with more shear-thinning behaviours and elastic properties improved. Overall, the cakes containing more BGEMs showed decreased volume and increased hardness while no significant differences were observed between the control and BGEM cakes containing 1 g of β-glucan per serving.

CONCLUSION

As a wheat flour substitute, the BGEMs that were prepared from low-grade Lentinus edodes mushrooms, could be successfully used to produce cakes containing 1 g of β-glucan per serving with quality attributes similar to those of the control.