Digestibility and antimicrobial activity of developed Lentinus edodus powder

Abstract

Shiitake mushrooms (L. edodus) form an excellent source of high quality proteins with potential medicinal value. Mushrooms however have a short shelf-life of 1-2 days and start deteriorating immediately after their harvest. Drying of untreated Shiitake mushroom often results in product with unacceptable colour and flavor. At the same time, treatments may adversely affect the protein digestibility and antimicrobial properties thereby forfeiting the nutritional and medicinal objectives. Present study reports crude protein, in vitro protein digestibility, antimicrobial activity and sensory attributes of Shiitake (L. edodus) mushroom powders developed using various predrying and drying treatments. Pre drying treatments included combinations of blanching with chemical treatments including dip in Potassium Metabisulphite/ Citric acid/ Hydrogen peroxide. The treated mushrooms were subjected to either solar or oven drying. All treatments were found effective in producing organoleptically acceptable powders with significantly (P≤0.05) improved in vitro protein digestibility. Also the developed powders depicted antimicrobial activity towards Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi.