Evaluation of Polish Wild Mushrooms as Beta-Glucan Sources

Abstract

Mushroom beta-glucans show immunomodulatory, anticancer and antioxidant features. Numerous papers have been published in the last years on fungal polysaccharides, especially beta-glucans, demonstrating their various biological activities. However substantial data about beta-glucan contents in many mushroom species, especially wild mushrooms, are still missing. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to evaluate β-glucans in 18 species of wild mushrooms and three species of commercial mushrooms for comparison purposes. The contents of β-glucans were determined by the Megazyme method and with the Congo red method, which differ in analytical procedure. Among wild mushrooms, the highest mean β-glucan content assessed with the Megazyme method was found in Tricholoma portentosum (34.97 g/100 g DM), whereas with the Congo red method in Lactarius deliciosus (17.11 g/100 g DM) and Suillus grevillei (16.97 g/100 g DM). The β-glucans in wild mushrooms assessed with the Megazyme method were comparable to commercial mushrooms, whereas β-glucans assessed with the Congo red method were generally higher in wild mushrooms, especially in Russula vinosa, L. deliciosus and S. grevillei. This study indicates wild mushrooms as interesting material for β-glucan extraction for food industry and medicinal purposes.

Edible Mushrooms and Beta-Glucans: Impact on Human Health

“…The β-glucan content in different cultivars of Lentinula edodes , determined by a specific kit (Megazyme International, Ireland), ranged from 20 to 40% and from 33 to 58%, respectively, in the pileus and the stipe regions of the dried fruiting bodies [ 63 ]; these values of β-glucan content were confirmed by two subsequent studies detecting β-glucans in a large number of fruiting bodies of wild and commercial edible mushroom species, including the Lentinula edodes [ 64 , 65 ]. The latter study assayed β-glucans also with the Congo red method, which detects the β-glucans with a triple-helix chain conformation, possibly characterized by more efficient immunomodulatory activities [ 10 ].…”

“…Table 1 reports all glucan and β-glucan content in different species and parts of commercially cultivated mushrooms [ 64 ]. The α-glucan content in mushrooms was only a small percentage of total glucans, even less than 1.5% in some Lentinula edodes cultivars [ 63 , 64 , 65 ].…”

Macrofungi as a Nutraceutical Source: Promising Bioactive Compounds and Market Value

“…Detailed studies of β-glucans demonstrated their beneficial impact on human life. These compounds are responsible for many bioactivities, such as immunomodulating, anticholesterolemic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and neuroprotective activities, as well as lipid balance improvement, and they even have a great impact on the general feeling of the consumer [133]. They bind to a membrane receptor and induce these biological responses [134].…”

In vitro Selection of Synbiotics and in vivo Investigation of Growth Indices, Reproduction Performance, Survival, and Ovarian Cyp19α Gene Expression in Zebrafish Danio rerio

“…In an in vitro study conducted by Van Doan et al (2015) , it was noted that Jerusalem artichoke extract at 5% concentration caused maximum growth in the bacterial population of Lactobacillus plantarum , finding that is in line with that of ours. Similarly, the observed increase in the growth of each of the two probiotics cultured together with mushroom extract could be attributed to the prebiotic components, such as chitin, hemicellulose, β- and α-glucans, mannans, xylans, and galatians, which are widely available in mushrooms ( Mirończuk-Chodakowska and Witkowska, 2020 ; Atila et al, 2021 ). The findings from our study are supported by several other studies.…”