Update on potential of edible mushrooms: high‐value compounds, extraction strategies and bioactive properties

Determination of Nutritional and Biochemical Composition of Selected Pleurotus spps

The global demand for good quality food is going to be increased gradually. Mushrooms are broadly used as healthy nutritious meals. The nutritional values of extracts from four distinct Pleurotus species-Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajor-caju, Pleurotus sapidus, and Pleurotus columbinus-were determined in the current study. Firstly, proximate analysis of selected Pleurotus species was performed followed by the Bradford assay to analyze the protein spectrophotometrically; high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed for sugar determination while GC-MS was done to determine fatty acids on organic extracts of selected mushrooms. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the percentages while significance was determined by SPSS statistics. The results depicted that fat, protein, ash, fiber, energy contents, and total carbohydrate were in the range of 0.64-2.02%, 16.07-25.15%, 2.1-9.14%, 6.21-54.12%, 342.20-394.30 kcal/100 g, and 65.66-82.47%, respectively. The protein's maximum concentration was observed in P. ostreatus followed by P. columbinus>P. sajor-caju>P. sapidus, sequentially. Various sugars may or may not be present in selected Pleurotus spps. Among the fatty acids, the prevalence of UFA was more than that of saturated fatty acids among all selected mushrooms. From this study, it is concluded that all four Pleurotus spps. have excellent nutritional composition and can be used as valuable food and a great source of biochemical compounds.

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.