Received for review December 27, 2000. Revised manuscript received March 14, 2001. Accepted March 14, 2001. Financial support for this project was provided by the National Technology Agency (TEKES).

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to determine the contents of mineral elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Se), vitamins (B₁, B₂, B₁₂, C, D, folates, and niacin), and certain phenolic compounds (flavonoids, lignans, and phenolic acids) in the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus/white, Agaricus bisporus/brown, Lentinus edodes, and Pleurotus ostreatus. Selenium, toxic heavy metals (Cd, Pb), and other mineral elements were analyzed by ETAAS, ICP-MS, and ICP methods, respectively; vitamins were detected by microbiological methods (folates, niacin, and vitamin B₁₂) or HPLC methods (other vitamins), and phenolic compounds were analyzed by HPLC (flavonoids) or GC-MS methods (lignans and phenolic acids). Cultivated mushrooms were found to be good sources of vitamin B₂, niacin, and folates, with contents varying in the ranges 1.8-5.1, 31-65, and 0.30-0.64 mg/100 g dry weight (dw), respectively. Compared with vegetables, mushrooms proved to be a good source of many mineral elements, e.g., the contents of K, P, Zn, and Cu varied in the ranges 26.7-47.3 g/kg, 8.7-13.9 g/kg, 47-92 mg/kg, and 5.2-35 mg/kg dw, respectively. A. bisporus/brown contained large amounts of Se (3.2 mg/kg dw) and the levels of Cd were quite high in L. edodes (1.2 mg/kg dw). No flavonoids or lignans were found in the mushrooms analyzed. In addition, the phenolic acid contents were very low.

Keywords: Mushrooms; nutritional value; mineral elements; vitamins; flavonoids; lignans; phenolic acids

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