Plant Disease Research

Five wild edible Pleurotus species viz., P. floridanus, P. pulmonarius, P. sapidus, P. cystidiosus and P. sajor -caju collected from different localities of North West India were evaluated for their nutritional and nutraceutical composition. The analysis of nutraceuticals included determination of sugars by HPLC, analysis of fatty acids by GC and other antioxidants like â - carotene, lycopene and total phenolic compounds with the methanolic extract and the quantities were measured from standards. Ascorbic acid was quantified by visual titration methods. Amongst these samples, P. pulmonarius contained maximum percentage of carbohydrates (88.38%) and minimum amount was observed in P. cystidiosus (85.86%). Dietary fibres were found to be maximum in P. cystidiosus (3.12%) followed by P. floridanus (3.00%), P. pulmonarius (2.98%), P. sapidus (2.97%) and least amount of dietary fibers were observed in P. sajor - caju (2.76%). Protein content was found to be maximum in P. cystidiosus (3.100%) and least amount of protein content was observed in P. pulmonarius (1.4%). Ash content was maximum in P. floridanus (2.20%) and least amount of ash was found in P. pulmonarius (1.03%). Crude fat was maximum in P. floridanus (0.84%) and minimum in P. sajor - caju (0.62%). Glucose and sucrose were found to be present in considerable amount in comparison to xylose which was found to be present in traces. Amongst the fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids were found to be predominated over saturated ones. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were also present in considerable amount (0.22 – 1.38%). Ascorbic acid content in these species ranged from 0.46 – 0.49%. Beta carotene content ranged from 0.13 – 0.22 ug/100 gms. Lycopene contents ranged from 0.5 – 0.7 ug/100 gms and phenolic compounds in these species ranged from 6 – 16 mg/100 gms of gallic acid.