Development of a Novel Methodology for the Analysis of Ergosterol in Mushrooms

Abstract

Sterols are important molecules in the unsaponifiable fraction of several matrices. Ergosterol, which is an important vitamin D 2 precursor, is clearly the main sterol in mushrooms. Herein, an analytical method for ergosterol determination in cultivated and wild mushrooms was developed using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detection. The chromatographic separation was achieved in a Inertsil 100A ODS-3 reverse phase column using an isocratic elution with acetonitrile:methanol (70:30, v:v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Different extraction methodologies were tested, using n-hexane, methanol:dichloromethane (75:25, v:v) or chloroform:methanol (20:10, v:v). The method was optimized using Fistulina hepatica and proved to be reproductive and accurate. Ergosterol was the most abundant sterol by a greater extent in all mushrooms. In general, the cultivated species showed higher contents, mainly Agaricus bisporus and Lentinus edodes. Among wild species, Boletus edulis was the mushroom with the highest content in ergosterol. Results were expressed in fat content, dry weight and fresh weight bases. The assessment of ergosterol amounts might be very useful due to the bioactive potential that has been attributed to this molecule and its derivatives.

Wild mushrooms and their mycelia as sources of bioactive compounds: Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties

“…Growth in diameter of the mycelia of P. eryngii (A) and S. bellinii (B) cultivated in different culture media throughout time. (Barreira et al, 2014), but that higher value was measured in commercial samples, which might justify the difference in comparison to the result reported here.…”

“…The sterol extracts were dissolved in methanol (20 mg/mL), filtered through a 0.22 lm nylon syringe filter and characterized by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to an ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) (Barreira et al, 2014). Chromatographic data (obtained at 285 nm) were analyzed using Clarity 2.4 Software (DataApex, Podohradska, Czech Republic).…”

“…Considering the species herein, the fruiting bodies of P. eryngii were previously studied for their chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, after being harvested at different periods (Barreira, Oliveira, & Ferreira, 2014;Lin et al, 2014;Reis, Barros, Sousa, Martins, & Ferreira, 2014;Reis, Martins, Barros, & Ferreira, 2012). However, as far as we know, the antiinflammatory activity of S. bellinii was not reported yet.…”

Functionalization of yogurts with Agaricus bisporus extracts encapsulated in spray-dried maltodextrin crosslinked with citric acid

“…The equipment consisted of an integrated system with a pump (Knauer, Smartline system 1000, Berlin, Germany), a degasser system (Smartline manager 5000), an auto-sampler (AS-2057 Jasco, Easton, MD) and a UV detector (Knauer Smartline 2500). For that, ergosterol was quantified based on a calibration curve obtained from a commercial standard using the internal standard method with cholecalciferol as the internal standard (Barreira et al, 2014) and data analyzed using Clarity 2.4 Software (DataApex). Microcapsules load was thereafter determined as the ratio (w/w) between the effectively microencapsulated extract and the obtained microspheres amount.…”

“…bisporus extracts was reported to increase their bioactivity, as indicated by in vitro studies that validated the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity against tumor cells (Heleno et al, 2017). However the poor solubility of its major compound, ergosterol, both in lipophilic and hydrophilic media, may limit the application of those extracts (Barreira, Oliveira, & Ferreira, 2014;Corrêa, Peralta, Bracht, & Ferreira, 2017). This solubility constraint might be overcome by microencapsulating the extract with a material showing improved water compatibility such as maltodextrin, which could also allow a better stability during storage.…”