A mixed mushroom control material to facilitate inter-laboratory harmonization of mushroom composition analyses

Abstract

A wide range of nutrients and health-promoting non-nutrient components in mushrooms are a subject of international research, but specific reference materials to facilitate comparison of results among laboratories are lacking. Commercially available food matrix reference materials do not contain components unique to mushrooms (e.g., ergosterol, vitamin D 2 , chitin, beta-glucans, agaritine, ergothioneine). A Mixed Mushroom Control Material (CM) (homogeneous mixture of 15 types of mushrooms) was prepared and characterized for selected components, including proximates (moisture, protein, ash), total folate, folate vitamers, ergosterol, ergosterol metabolites, vitamin D 2 (ergocalciferol), amino acids, total dietary fiber, agaritine, elements (sodium, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc), riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid). Subsamples of the CM are available to qualified laboratories from the Food Analysis Laboratory Control Center at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA, USA), to be assayed concurrently with mushroom samples for which food composition data will be published along with results for the CM. Implementation of this CM should facilitate comparison of published data on mushroom composition and health benefit among species, and biodiversity within species by serving as common control sample that allows the separation of analytical variability from true differences in sample composition determined at different laboratories.

Seasonal variability of the vitamin C content of fresh fruits and vegetables in a local retail market

“…The reporting of results for commercially available food matrix reference materials is also fundamental to the ability to compare nutrient composition data in the literature, when analytical methods and their implementation vary along with the samples being analyzed. The importance of such controls in the context of literature data on food composition has been illustrated in a previous publication …”

“…A major limitation in comparing data for a given food between studies, or over a period of many years, and/or across different laboratories (including studies on seasonal variation, biodiversity, comparison of data from different publications or databases or within a given database when new data are obtained), is lack of samples in common (e.g., control or reference material) that allow true sample differences to be distinguished from analytical variation. These issues and several examples have been discussed in a recent publication . In the ongoing NFNAP, which began in 1997, the USDA has addressed this issue by preparing and utilizing well‐ characterized control materials and commercially available reference materials to monitor and compare analytical data for different foods, different samples of the same food obtained at different times, and from different laboratories .…”

Impact on Vitamin D2, Vitamin D4 and Agaritine in Agaricus bisporus Mushrooms after Artificial and Natural Solar UV Light Exposure

“…This method is well described elsewhere [20,21]. The HPLC method used in this study has been used as reference method in a recent inter-laboratory study with mixed mushroom material [22]. We used the same mixed mushroom material used by Philips and Rasor [22] to validate HPLC method.…”

“…The HPLC method used in this study has been used as reference method in a recent inter-laboratory study with mixed mushroom material [22]. We used the same mixed mushroom material used by Philips and Rasor [22] to validate HPLC method. Agaritine values obtained were not significantly different from those already reported.…”

Survey of vitamin D and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in traditional native Alaskan meats, fish, and oils

“…Phillips et al Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 74 (2018) 114-128 notable among studies/samples for seal oils and blubber (1.6-160 μg/ 100 g for ringed seal and < 0.1-29.2 μg/100 g for bearded seal) and whale oil and blubber (< 1.6-74.4 μg/100 g). It is difficult to determine whether the variability is due to actual within-species variation due to environment or maturity, for example (as discussed for variation among samples in this study, section 3.2 and in Roseland et al, 2018) or analytical differences, due to lack of reference samples in common that would quantify the contribution of any analytical variability, as discussed in other publications (Phillips et al, 2006;Phillips and Rasor, 2016;Roseland et al, 2016). The existing literature do not include data on 25(OH)D 3 , and some of the foods can be significant contributors (> 0.6 μg/100 g) (see Fig.…”