Composition and contents of fatty acids and amino acids in the mycelia of Lentinula edodes

Abstract

With the global shortages of animal protein foods, mycoprotein as a low‐cost alternative source of protein by its high‐protein and low‐fat content has become a development trend. Lentinula edodes (L. edodes) is a healthy food with high protein and low fiber. This work evaluated the nutritional value of L. edodes mycelia, and determined the composition and contents of fatty acids and amino acids. Eleven saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and 12 unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) were detected in the mycelia of L. edodes. The UFA content accounted for 75.7% and 73.1% of the total fatty acid content in the mycelia of strains 18 and 18N44, respectively. Linoleic acid was the major polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in the mycelia, accounting for 91.0% and 86.3% of the UFAs, respectively. The mycelia of the two strains contained 17 types of amino acids, and the essential amino acids were sufficient (357.92 ± 0.42 and 398.38 ± 4.52 mg/g pro, respectively), both close to the WHO/FAO reference protein pattern value. The most abundant essential amino acid was Lys, and the limiting amino acids were Met + Cys and Ile, respectively. The SRC values in the mycelia of the two strains were 68.07 and 54.86, and the EAAI values were 67.70 and 74.42, respectively, both being close to those of ovalbumin. It is concluded that L. edodes mycelia are rich in easily absorbed high‐quality proteins and PUFAs, and can be used as a source for meat analog required by vegetarians. This study provides a scientific basis for the further utilization of mycelial resources.

Airlift bioreactor–based strategies for prolonged semi-continuous cultivation of edible Agaricomycetes

“…The concomitant or individual halving of glucose and yeast extract impacted severely on T. versicolor and A. blazei , possibly because these two strains are more affected by the reduction of the primary carbon source to fuel their growth (Berovic and Podgornik 2016 ). L. edodes is instead more affected by the reduction of CSL, possibly because critical components of this mixed substrate (possibly oligopeptides or single amino acids) cannot be biosynthesised by the metabolic machinery of this strain; in fact, Yu et al ( 2023 ) highlighted a specific pattern of amino acid biosynthetic capability of L. edodes . As mentioned above, the most resilient strain in surviving the lack of primary carbon source (halved glucose) and secondary carbon source (CSL) is H. erinaceus ; this strain shows a 25% reduction in CDW when grown under those conditions.…”