Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 201–206

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Commercial mushrooms: nutritional quality and effect of cooking

Pamela Manzi*, Stefania Marconi, Altero Aguzzi, Laura Pizzoferrato
Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione, Via Ardeatina, 546 00178-Roma, Italy

Received 5 February 2003; received in revised form 31 March 2003; accepted 31 March 2003

Abstract
With the aim of extending knowledge on chemical composition of mushrooms, commercial samples, widely consumed in Italy
(Boletus group, Agrocybe aegerita and Pleurotus eryngii) have been examined to determine proximate composition and some com-
ponents of nutritional interest such as dietary fibre, chitin, beta glucan and total phenols in raw and cooked samples. The moisture
values ranged from 67.2 to 91.5 g/100 g edible weight in the raw samples, and from 71.9 to 90.4 g /100 g edible weight in the cooked
samples. The lipid fraction was not relevant. Proteins, higher in Boletus group dried samples than in the other mushroom species
(Agrocybe aegerita and Pleurotus eryngii), ranged from 1.5 to 7.9 g/100 g edible weight, while the ash content varied between 0.5
and 2.0 g/100 g of edible weight. Dried and re-hydrated Boletus samples showed higher levels of soluble and insoluble dietary fibre
than the other samples. The amount of beta glucans varied within the same species (Boletus group samples) and represented from 2
to 13% of total dietary fibre. The chitin content ranged from 0.5 to 3.3 g/100 g edible weight. Finally, total phenols varied widely
among different mushroom species, from 51.4 to 403.8 mg/100 g edible weight and from 70.4 to 301.6 mg/100 g edible weight,
respectively, for raw and cooked samples.
# 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Edible mushrooms; Chemical composition; Functional compounds

1. Introduction From a nutritional point of view, mushrooms are not

rich in protein or fat but they contain appreciable
Edible mushrooms are characterized by a short shelf amounts of dietary fibre (Manzi, Aguzzi, & Pizzo-
life (1–3 days at room temperature), linked to the ferrato, 2001), particularly important for the regulation
occurrence of post-harvest changes (Czapski & of physiological functions in the human organism. Func-
Szudyga, 2000). These changes are due to the high tional compounds in mushrooms have recently been
moisture content of the carpoforus and to the high highlighted (Manzi, Aguzzi, Vivanti, Paci, & Pizzo-
activity of enzymes such as protease or polyphenol ferrato, 1999; Manzi & Pizzoferrato, 2000; Mattila,
oxidase, responsible for protein and sugar decrease and Suonpaa & Piironen, 2000). These substances are able to
for a browning reaction during storage. The drying lower cholesterolemia, modulate the immune system and
process is by far the most widely used method for guar- inhibit tumoral growth (Zhang, Cheung, & Zangh, 2001).
anteeing long term storage. In Italy, dried mushrooms In particular, chitin (N-acetyl-d-glucosamine poly-
are regulated by a national law (DPR 14/7/1995 n. 376) mer), a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide of the fungal
and the term ‘‘Boletus group’’ comprises different spe- cell walls, and chitosan, its deacetylated derivative, are
cies, such as Boletus aereus, Boletus pinicola, Boletus responsible for decreasing the physiological cholesterol
reticulatus and Boletus edulis. pool (Bobek & Galbavy, 1999; Bobek, Ginter, & Ozdin,
Apart from this tecnique, the deep-freezing process 1993; Bobek, Ozdyn, & Kuniak, 1995).
has been used and represents another common way to Other functional compounds in mushrooms are beta
increase storage stability and facilitate mushroom glucans, particularly effective in lowering blood choles-
consumption without seasonal constraints. terol levels and glycemic response in vivo but scant
information is available about the amounts that exist in
* Corresponding author. Fax.: +39-06-51494550. edible mushrooms (Bobek, Nosalova, & Cerna, 2001;
E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Manzi). Cheung, 1998).
0308-8146/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(03)00202-4
202 P. Manzi et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 201–206

Recently, some studies have been carried out to eval- After these procedures, all the samples were grilled for
uate the antioxidant activity of speciality commercial 10 minutes without addition of other ingredients. Raw
mushrooms (Mau, Chao, & Wu, 2001; Mau, Lin, & and cooked samples were analysed in triplicate.
Song, 2002). Phenolic substances, probably responsible
for scavenging effects on radicals, are the major natu- 2.2. Chemicals
rally occurring antioxidant components found in mush-
rooms (Yang, Lin, & Mau, 2002). All reagents (Carlo Erba, Milan) were of analytical or
The main objective of this study is to evaluate differ- HPLC grade, as required.
ent mushroom species (Boletus group; Agrocybe aegerita The enzyme kit, containing alpha-amylase, amyloglu-
and Pleurotus eryngii) after different industrial processes cosidase and protease, according to the official method
(frozen, dried or fresh); chemical and nutritional char- for dietary fibre (Association of Official Analytical
acteristics of mushrooms are closely linked to species Chemists, 1995) and gallic acid standard were from
and processing (Bano & Rajarathnam, 1988; Diez & Sigma (Milano, I).
Alvarez, 2001; Justo, Guzman, De Mejia, & Diaz, 1998; Lichenase [EC 3.2.1.73] 1000 U/ml, beta glucosidase
Leon-Guzman, Silva, & Lopez, 1997; Longvah & [EC 3.2.1.21] 40 U/ml, and glucose standards were
Deosthale, 1998; Manzi, Gambelli, Marconi, Vivanti, & obtained from Megazyme Int. (Ireland Ltd).
Pizzoferrato, 1999). In particular, the proximate com-
position and functional components, such as dietary 2.3. Methods
fibre, chitin, beta glucan and total phenols, has been
studied in mushrooms (both raw and submitted to tra- Water, protein (N4.38) according to Crisan and
ditional home cooking). Sands (1978), fat and ash contents were determined
according to the AOAC procedures (1995). Total
carbohydrates were calculated by difference.
2. Materials and methods Total energy was calculated according to the follow-
ing equations (Dir. 90/496/CEE):
2.1. Samples Energy (kcal)=4(g protein +g carbohydrate)
+9(g lipid);
Fruit bodies of different species of mushrooms were Energy (kJ)=17(g protein +g carbohydrate)+37(g
collected from different local grocery stores and super- lipid).
markets of Italy according to this plan: Dietary fibre, as soluble and insoluble fractions, was
determined according to the enzymatic-gravimetric
method of Prosky, Asp, Schweizer, De Vreis, and Furda
(1988).
Samples Species Industrial treatment The determination of chitin was carried out as N-
A Boletus group Dried glucosamine, after acid hydrolysis with 6N HCl, fol-
B Boletus group Dried lowing a colorimetric reaction according to the method
C Boletus group Dried of Ride and Drysdale (1972).
D Boletus group Dried Beta glucans were determined according to the
E Boletus group Dried method of McCleary and Holmes (1985) slightly mod-
F Boletus group Dried ified for mushroom analyses by Manzi and Pizzo-
G Boletus group Dried ferrato (2000).
H Boletus group Dried Total phenols were determined according to the
I Boletus group Frozen method of Capannesi, Palchetti, Mascini and Parenti
K Agrocybe aegerita Fresh (2000) with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and gallic acid
L Pleurotus eryngii Fresh in methanol was used as standard. The spectro-
photometric analysis was performed at 765 nm.
According to the Italian law (1995), Boletus group is
made up of different Boletus species (Boletus edulis;
Boletus areus; Boletus pinicola and Boletus reticulatus): 3. Results and discussion
the accurate proportions of the Boletus mixture is not
mentioned explicitly (Sitta, 2000) and for this reason Table 1 lists the proximate composition of raw
different commercial brands have been selected. mushrooms. Moisture values range from 67.2 to 91.5 g/
All dried samples were rehydrated, as indicated in the 100 g edible weight. The fat level is quite low and ranges
label, while fresh mushrooms were submitted to the from 0.6 to 1.5 g/100 g edible weight while the protein
customary procedures of cleaning, removing of pileus content is 5.4 g/100 g, on average. The ash content ran-
and cutting. ges from 0.5 to 2.0 g/100 g of edible weight and total
 P. Manzi et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 201–206 203

carbohydrate concentration, calculated by difference, On the basis of the proximate analysis, it can be cal-
varies from 5.9 to 21.6 g/100 g edible weight. culated that an edible portion of 100 g of cooked
All samples were analysed after being cooked for 10 mushrooms assures, on average, 50 kcal (212 kJ). The
min without other ingredients. The cooking yield in highest values are guaranteed by dried and rehydrated
weight (%), the proximate composition of cooked sam- mushrooms (from A to H), while fresh (K and L) and
ples and the relevant energy values are listed in Table 2. frozen (I) mushrooms give the lowest energy contribu-
On average, 76.6 g of cooked mushrooms are tion (Table 2). These results do not depend on the
obtained from 100 g of fresh mushrooms. Going into mushroom species and are much more affected by the
detail, the cooking yield is 79.0 and 70.7%, respectively, industrial technology utilised in the mushroom
for Agrocybe aegerita (sample K) and Pleurotus eryngii preparation (dried or frozen).
(sample L) while, for the Boletus group samples (A–I), it Table 3 shows dietary fibre (total, soluble and inso-
is, on average, 76.9%. luble), beta glucans, chitin and total phenol contents in
The moisture values range from 71.9 to 90.4 g/100 g raw mushrooms.
edible weight, the fat ranges from 0.7 to 1.5 g/100 g edible In particular, samples from A to H (dried and rehy-
weight, the protein content is on average 5.3 g/100 g edible drated Boletus group) show higher levels of soluble and
weight and ash content ranges from 0.6 to 2.0 g/100 g insoluble dietary fibre than other samples (I, K and H),
edible weight. Total carbohydrate content, calculated by probably due to incomplete rehydration during recon-
difference, varies from 6.6 to 18.1 g/100 g edible weight. stitution of the dried samples with water.

Table 1
Proximate composition (g/100 g edible weight) of raw mushrooms. Analytical data are means of triplicate analysesstandard deviation

Raw samples Moisturea Fat Proteinb Ash Carbohydratesc

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

A Boletus group dried 75.70.1 1.10.0 6.2 0.1 2.0 0.0 15.00.1
B Boletus group dried 75.00.1 1.00.0 5.6 0.0 1.5 0.1 16.80.1
C Boletus group dried 74.00.1 1.50.2 6.4 0.1 1.6 0.1 16.40.2
D Boletus group dried 73.40.0 1.30.0 6.1 0.0 1.6 0.1 17.70.1
E Boletus group dried 70.50.2 1.40.1 6.8 0.1 1.7 0.1 19.60.1
F Boletus group dried 74.40.2 0.80.1 5.7 0.1 1.5 0.2 17.60.0
G Boletus group dried 67.20.0 1.40.0 7.9 0.1 1.9 0.1 21.60.2
H Boletus group dried 73.60.1 1.30.2 6.7 0.0 1.5 0.0 16.90.0
I Boletus group frozen 91.50.2 0.60.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 5.90.0
K Agrocybe aegerita fresh 87.40.2 0.80.0 3.9 0.0 1.2 0.0 6.70.0
L Pleurotus eryngii fresh 86.60.2 0.80.0 2.2 0.1 1.2 0.1 9.60.1
a
Moisture of raw dried mushrooms was analysed after rehydration as recommended in the label.
b
N4.38.
c
Calculated by difference.

Table 2
Cooking yield (%), proximate composition (g/100 g edible weight) and energy value (kcal/100 g and kJ/100 g) of cooked mushrooms. Analytical
data are means of triplicate analysesstandard deviation

Cooked samples Cooking yield Moisturea Fat Proteinb Ash Carbohydratesc Energy
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) kcal/100 g kJ/100 g

A Boletus group dried 76.7 77.80.1 0.80.0 6.00.1 1.3 0.1 14.20.0 48.1 0.3 203.51.5
B Boletus group dried 74.1 76.40.1 1.20.0 5.80.0 1.0 0.0 15.70.0 51.2 0.3 216.11.1
C Boletus group dried 80.8 76.00.2 1.00.0 5.40.1 1.1 0.1 16.40.1 57.5 0.4 243.01.9
D Boletus group dried 74.0 74.10.1 1.20.0 6.30.0 0.9 0.1 17.50.1 60.0 0.3 253.41.3
E Boletus group dried 75.1 74.20.3 1.50.0 6.20.1 1.2 0.0 16.80.1 57.7 0.2 243.30.9
F Boletus group dried 68.5 74.90.1 0.80.1 5.20.1 0.9 0.0 18.10.3 54.5 0.5 230.52.0
G Boletus group dried 81.3 71.90.1 1.50.1 7.00.1 2.0 0.1 17.70.1 63.7 0.6 268.92.5
H Boletus group dried 85.5 78.20.1 1.20.0 6.30.1 0.8 0.0 13.50.1 59.7 0.2 252.10.9
I Boletus group frozen 76.9 90.40.2 0.70.0 1.80.0 0.6 0.0 6.60.1 22.5 0.1 94.60.4
K Agrocybe aegerita fresh 79.0 84.60.2 1.00.0 4.70.1 1.5 0.0 8.20.1 30.8 0.1 129.90.4
L Pleurotus eryngii fresh 70.7 82.10.2 1.00.1 3.10.1 1.4 0.1 12.90.1 46.5 0.5 196.20.9
a
Moisture of raw dried mushrooms was analysed after rehydration as recommended in the label.
b
N4.38.
c
Calculated by difference.
204 P. Manzi et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 201–206

Beta glucans, functional compouds within the dietary cooked samples. Total dietary fibre ranges from 4.27
fibre fraction, vary in mushrooms, apparently without to 12.09 g/100 g edible weight, while soluble and
any correlation to species or technological processes. To insoluble fibre varies from 0.58 to 2.73 g/100 g edible
this end, further studies are in progress in order to con- weight and from 3.69 to 10.18 g/100 g edible weight,
firm the hypothesis that beta glucans can be related to respectively.
the life-stage of mushrooms. Beta glucan levels range According to Italian recommended nutrient intakes
from 245 to 1110 mg/100 g edible weight, representing (LARN, 1996), the daily requirement of dietary fibre for
from 4 to 13% of the total dietary fibre. an adult (30–59 years) is 30 g: mushrooms could be
The chitin contents (reported as glucosamine) are considered a good source of fibre because a portion of
shown in Table 3. In dried and rehydrated mushrooms 100g of cooked mushrooms guarantees, on average,
(from A to H samples), the chitin level, because of an 32% of the daily requirement of dietary fibre. The per-
incomplete rehydration, as already discussed, is higher cent contribution ranged from 14% in the frozen Bole-
(from 1.8 to 3.3 g/100 g edible weight) than in the frozen tus group sample (I) to 40% in the E sample (Boletus
and fresh samples (I, K, and L). Chitin represents, on group dried and rehydrated).
average 25% of the total dietary fibre. Beta glucans (Table 4) are on average 415.5 mg/100 g
The amount of total phenols, also, varies widely and represent 4.8% of the total dietary fibre. In Table 4,
among different mushroom species but, in particular, chitin (referred to as glucosamine) in cooked mush-
the dried Boletus group samples contained the greatest rooms is also listed. The chitin content ranges from 0.6
amount of these compounds, from 235.9 to 403.8 mg/ to 3.2 g/100 g edible weight and represents from 9.1 to
100 g of edible weight. 26.0% of the total dietary fibre.
Table 4 shows soluble, insoluble and total dietary Total phenols Table 4, are higher in the Boletus group
fibre, beta glucans, chitin and total phenols of dried samples (on average 237.9 g/100 g edible weight)

Table 3
Contents of soluble dietary fibre (S.D.F.), insoluble dietary fibre (I.D.F.), and total dietary fibre (T.D.F), beta glucans, chitin and total phenols in
raw mushrooms. Beta glucans and chitin levels are also expressed as% of T.D.F. Data are expressed as mg/100 g or g/100 g edible weight (e.w.)

Raw samples S.D.F. I.D.F. T.D.F. Beta glucans T.D.F. Chitin T.D.F. Total phenols
(g/100 g e.w.) (g/100 g e.w.) (g/100 g e.w.) (mg/100 g e.w.) (%) (g/100 g e.w.) % (mg/100 g e.w.)

A Boletus group dried 1.580.04 6.040.04 7.620.08 352.518.0 4.6 2.4 0.0 31 269.110.4
B Boletus group dried 1.350.06 5.680.00 7.030.06 405.32.3 5.8 2.0 0.0 29 246.20.6
C Boletus group dried 1.220.05 6.630.48 7.850.52 309.58.8 3.9 2.2 0.0 28 299.41.3
D Boletus group dried 2.200.0 7.370.24 9.570.24 1110.363.4 11.6 2.1 0.0 22 403.89.7
E Boletus group dried 1.750.09 7.890.36 9.640.45 489.324.4 5.1 3.0 0.0 31 311.73.6
F Boletus group dried 2.030.21 7.380.52 9.400.73 n.d. n.d. 1.8 0.0 19 235.95.2
G Boletus group dried 1.720.16 8.990.31 10.710.47 435.913.6 4.1 3.3 0.0 31 314.84.6
H Boletus group dried 1.110.05 5.920.19 7.040.24 358.72.5 5.1 2.0 0.0 28 349.45.1
I Boletus group frozen 0.320.05 2.280.08 2.600.13 245.73.8 13.3 0.7 0.0 28 97.5 0.8
K Agrocybe aegerita fresh 0.960.11 4.110.13 5.070.25 302.53.2 6.0 0.8 0.0 16 190.31.5
L Pleurotus eryngii fresh 0.530.19 4.110.38 4.640.58 413.853.3 8.9 0.5 0.1 11 51.4 15.5

n.d. Not detected.

Table 4
Contents of soluble dietary fibre (S.D.F.), insoluble dietary fibre (I.D.F.), and total dietary fibre (T.D.F), beta glucans, chitin and total phenols in
cooked mushrooms. Beta glucans and chitin levels are also expressed as% of T.D.F. Data are expressed as mg/100 g or g/100 g edible weight (e.w.)

Cooked samples S.D.F. I.D.F. T.D.F. Beta glucans T.D.F. Chitin T.D.F. Total phenols
(g/100 g e.w.) (g/100 g e.w.) (g/100 g e.w.) (mg/100 g e.w.) (%) (g/100 g e.w.) (%) (mg/100 g e.w.)

A Boletus group dried 1.530.15 8.400.17 9.930.32 442.122.5 4.5 2.2 0.0 22 220.63.9
B Boletus group dried 2.150.08 9.130.30 11.290.22 332.910.5 2.9 2.2 0.0 20 211.42.5
C Boletus group dried 1.610.15 8.220.50 9.830.35 373.910.8 3.8 2.3 0.0 24 207.34.6
D Boletus group dried 2.730.41 8.760.18 11.490.23 938.97.5 8.2 2.4 0.0 21 301.61.2
E Boletus group dried 1.910.10 10.180.17 12.090.07 362.711.7 3.0 3.0 0.0 25 243.59.6
F Boletus group dried 2.380.04 9.140.35 11.520.31 n.d. n.d. 2.5 0.0 21 163.20.9
G Boletus group dried 2.110.08 9.950.26 12.060.34 305.616.0 2.5 3.2 0.0 26 254.82.5
H Boletus group dried 1.100.07 6.520.35 7.620.42 154.718.1 2.0 2.0 0.0 26 300.71.9
I Boletus group frozen 0.580.01 3.690.09 4.270.10 359.927.6 8.4 0.9 0.0 21 109.20.6
K Agrocybe aegerita fresh 1.370.00 6.020.02 7.390.02 367.23.2 5.0 0.9 0.0 13 181.22.5
L Pleurotus eryngii fresh 0.800.21 5.840.82 6.650.19 516.746.5 7.8 0.6 0.1 9 70.4 13.1

n.d. Not detected.

 P. Manzi et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 201–206 205

Table 5 The apparent greater stability of nutrients in fresh/

Recovery (%) of nutrients after cooking, on a dry basis, in dried and frozen mushrooms is probably due to the absence of
frozen/fresh mushrooms
industrial treatments or to the mild processing, pro-
Nutrients Dried mushrooms Fresh or frozen moting—if compared with the more severe drying
mean value mushrooms treatment—nutrient integrity.
mean value

Weight 77 76
Water 80 73 Acknowledgements
Dry matter 70 94
Fat 72 90 This research was partially financed by National
Protein 72 94
Ash 53 89
Council of Research (Agenzia 2000 cod.
Carbohydrate 71 93 CNRG00C5BF).
Soluble dietary fibre 92 121
Insoluble dietary fibre 98 114
Total dietary fibre 96 114
Chitin 83 94 References
Beta glucans 67 88
Total phenols 61 86
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