The present work aimed to assess the effect of the following treatments on the medicinal potential (β-glucan content) and agronomical performance (yield) of Agaricus subrufescens: five different fungal strains, three cultivation substrates (compost), four casing layers, and four cultivation environments. Two experiments were performed, and the results indicate that the greatest contribution to the variation in β-glucan content was the strain (35.8%), followed by the casing layer (34.5%), the cultivation environment (15.7%), and the type of compost (9.9%). On the other hand the variation in yield was affected most by the cultivation environment (82.1%), followed by the strain (81.3%), casing layer (49.1%), and compost type (15.2%). These findings underscore the importance of developing a production protocol that employs specific cultivation practices for improving mushroom yield as well as β-glucan content.
β-Glucan is a polysaccharide with anticancer properties, and it is present in the mushroom Agaricus subrufescens. The aim of this study was to compare two analytical methods to quantify β-glucan in mushrooms and analyze the nutritional characteristics, the concentration of phenolic compounds and the mineral composition, for A. subrufescens strains. An enzymatic extraction was performed, and βglucan was quantified by spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No significant differences were found between the two methods of quantification of β-glucan. The CS7 and CS10 strains were found to have greater amounts of β-glucan, similar to the levels found in Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus-sajor-caju. Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes samples contained even higher amounts of β-glucan. Significant differences were found in the nutritional characteristics for all parameters assessed, except for fat content. There was no difference between the strains with regard to phenolic compounds or certain mineral components. Fresh A. subrufescens mushrooms are not considered to be a high-protein food. However, they are a good source of fiber and minerals, in addition to being low in fat. Spectrophotometry presents the advantages of being quicker and lower in cost; this technique may be suggested as the standard for measurement of the β-glucan.
Agaricus subrufescens, known as Sun Mushroom, is a high-value mushroom because of its medicinal properties, used as nutraceutical food to stimulate the immune system and to prevent some diseases, including cancer. Mushrooms are generally characterized by their great ability to bioaccumulate heavy metals and other toxic substances from the mushroom compost. Sugarcane bagasse is a common raw material used in mushroom compost production for Agaricus subrufescens cultivation, whereas insecticides, such as fipronil, can be applied to combat several pests in sugarcane crops. For this reason, we aimed to assess mushroom yield and fipronil bioaccumulation in Sun Mushroom, regarding different concentrations added to the mushroom compost (0, 8, 16 and 32 mg kg -1 ) and casing layer (0, 2, 4 and 8 mg kg -1 ). Each experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with four replicates. Regression analysis from mushroom production data was applied using SISVAR 5.1 program. Fipronil was quantified using gas-liquid chromatography (HP 6890) with thermionic detector (NPD). Mushroom yield was affected when fipronil was added, decreasing from 12% (compost with 0 mg kg -1 of fipronil) to 4.8% (compost with 32 mg kg -1 ). However, bioaccumulation was not detected. In contrast, insecticide bioaccumulation was detected when adding fipronil to casing layer, increasing from <0.01 mg kg -1 (casing layer with 2 mg kg -1 ) to 0.26 mg kg -1 (casing layer with 8 mg kg -1 ), however, mushroom yield was not affected.
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