Nutritional benefits of mushrooms revealed

16/02/05 An analysis of previously uncharted chemical contents, mostly carbohydrates, in U.S.-consumed mushrooms shows that these fruity edible bodies of fungi could be tailored into dietary plans to help fill various nutritional needs.

Using modern analytic tools, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that the six mushroom varieties tested -- in raw and cooked forms and at various harvest times and maturity levels -- are rich in total dietary fibers, including those associated with cholesterol-lowering (chitin) and healthy hearts (beta-glutan).

The findings appear online in advance of regular publication by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The same researchers last year reported in the same journal the carbohydrate profile of selected plum and prune products. The findings will become part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database.

It was already known that mushrooms offer high-quality protein, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, but a precise carbohydrate breakdown had been elusive.

The mushrooms studied were white button, crimini and portabella, all of which represent different maturity levels of Agaricus bisporus, and maitake (Grifola frondosa), shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and enoki (Flammulina velutipes). The latter two mushrooms were analyzed only in their consumed cooked form.

The Mushroom Council of Dublin, Calif., funded the mushroom study and provided the samples. The plum/prune study was done with samples and funding provided by the California Dried Plum Board. Elizabeth A. Flickinger, a former postdoctoral researcher in Fahey's lab, also was a co-author on the plum/prune study.