Beta Glucan, Antioxidants and selected nutrients in wild mushrooms from Thailand.

Abstract

Mushrooms have been known to possess numerous health benefits and used as dietary nutraceuticals and in traditional medicine. Numbers of wild mushrooms contain various bioactive components with potential health promoting functions including beta glucan (a modulator of the immune system), nutraceutical properties and other medicinal qualities with antioxidant activities. This study explores the interspecific differences in health beneficial functions of various species of wild mushrooms collected from Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, the largest protected area for forest resource conservation in the Lower North of Thailand. Our finding revealed that mushrooms in the families Russulaceae and Polyporaceae in this study were mostly found to have relatively high beta glucan content. Among those, Russula delica Fr., widely consumed in local foods of Lower Northern Thailand, shows relatively high beta glucan content (0.38%, by weight) compared to Lentinula edodes (0.34%). Russula cyanoxantha (Schaeff.) Fr., Russula alboareolata Hongo and Amanita princeps Corner & Bas contain high contents of nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber and essential fatty acids namely linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. The antioxidants, phenolics, flavonoids, beta carotene and lycopene, were also found in high amount and resulted in high antioxidant activity tested by DPPH radical scavenging and Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. It suggests that wild mushrooms have significant quantities of beta glucan and provide other nutritional compositions which benefit in human diets and therapeutic uses.