Abstract

DETERMINATION OF NUTRITIVE VALUE AND ANALYSIS OF MINERAL ELEMENTS FOR SOME MEDICINALLY VALUED MUSHROOMS FROM SHIMOGA FOREST REGIONS, KARNATAKA

Ashok Chittaragi*, Jayashree Kodiyalmath and Raja Naika

ABSTRACT

Mushrooms had long been used for medicinal and food purposes since decades. It is now increasingly recognized that correct diet, controls and modulates many functions of human body and consequently participates in the maintenance of state of good health, necessary to reduce the risk of many diseases. Determination of nutritive value and analysis of mineral elements of 4 wild mushroom (Lycoperdon umbrinum, Ganoderma sinense, Hygrocybe cantharellus and Calocera viscosa) species were analyzed from young and matured sporocarps were collected from the Shimoga forest regions of Karnataka. The macro nutrient profiles in general revealed that the wild mushrooms contains the moisture in range of (83.6-90.26%), lipids (1.4-2.79%), carbohydrate (23.73- 47.5%), crude protein (5.4-33.5%), crude fiber (8.4-13.2%), ash (1.92-9.2%) and nutritive value (84.44-125.84 Cal/100 gm). Among the macronutrients, Ca (46.85-73.62 %) is dominant, which is followed by Na (1.01-1.91 %), K (0.51-0.81 %), P (0.33-0.51 %) and Mg (0.10-0.22 %); in case of micronutrients Fe (84.33-103-63 %) was dominant followed by Mn (32.89-83.5 %), Cu (26.25-60.38 %), Zn (11.45-35.0 %) and Pb (13.33-16.3 %) in the same time Cd was completely absent in all mushroom samples. The results were subjected for statistical analysis. Hence, these nutrient contents revealed that mushrooms were low energy, healthy food and may also be used as a protein supplementary diet. This paper sums up diverse beneficial health effects of mushrooms to humans, in the form of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, food and drugs and medicines.

Keywords: Edible mushrooms, Medicinal mushrooms, Nutritive value, Mineral elements and Forest regions.