The Open Chemical and Biomedical Methods Journal

2011, 4 : 14-18
Published online 2011 December 20. DOI: 10.2174/1875038901104010014
Publisher ID: TOCBMJ-4-14

Do Bioactive Carotenoids Contribute to the Color of Edible Mushrooms?

Barbara Ribeiro , Paula Guedes de Pinho , Paula B. Andrade , Carla Oliveira , Antonio Cesar Silva Ferreira , Paula Baptista and Patricia Valentao
Laboratorio de Farmacognosia, Faculdade de Farmacia, Universidade do Porto, R. Anibal Cunha 164, 4050-047 Porto, Portugal.

ABSTRACT

Carotenoids are biologically active phytochemicals present as micro-components in fruits and vegetables, being responsible for their yellow, orange and red colors. The chromatographic behavior and the UV absorption spectrum provided by HPLC-DAD analysis constitute the clues for their identification. Mushrooms are of increasing importance in modern nutrition and medicine, due to the presence of metabolites with pharmacological potential. In this work, samples of wild and commercial mushroom species (Agaricus bisporus, Amanita caesarea, Amanita rubescens, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Fistulina hepatica, Hydnum rufescens, Hygrophorus agathosmus, Pholiota nameko, Pleurotus ostreatus, Russula cyanoxantha, Suillus bellini, Suillus bovinus, Suillus granulatus, Suillus luteus, Tricholoma equestre and Tricholoma portentosum) were screened by HPLC-DAD for the presence of carotenoids. By applying this methodology to 22 samples, comprising either lyophilized or fresh materials, only β-carotene was found and just in C. cibarius species. The occurrence of this pigment in other three of the analyzed species previously described raises some questions about the methodology used.

Keywords:

Carotenoids, Edible mushrooms, HPLC-DAD.