Determination of ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide in higher fungi Species by high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

Ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide are clearly the main sterol in mushrooms. Herein, an analytical method for ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide determination in cultivated and wild mushrooms was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detection. The chromatographic separation was achieved in a RP 18 (150 x 4,6 mm, 5 mm) column using an isocratic elution with methanol/acetonitrile (85:15, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Different extraction methodologies were tested, using n-hexane, methanol/dichloromethane (75:25, v/v) or chloroform / methanol (20:80, v/v). Ergosterol was the most abundant sterol by a greater extent in all mushrooms. Among wild species, Fomitopsis dochmius was the mushroom with the highest content in ergosterol. Results were expressed in fat content, dry weight and fresh weight bases. The assessment of ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide amounts might be very useful due to the bioactive potential that has been attributed to this molecule and its derivatives.