Mushrooms of Genus Pleurotus as a Source of Dietary Fibres and Glucans for Food Supplements

Fruit bodies (separately pilei and stems) of mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (four strains) and Pleurotus eryngii were characterised as a source of polysaccharides. The contents of glucans and dietary fibres were determined with using the respective Megazyme enzymatic kits. Enzymatic analysis of the fruit bodies confirmed significant differences in the contents of these components among the species and strains. The stems contained more insoluble dietary fibres than the pilei in all the cases and more beta-glucans in most cases. However, relatively high contents of beta-glucan (20-50% of dry matter) could be a result of incomplete enzymatic hydrolysis of insoluble alpha-1,3-glucans. Nevertheless, low food quality stems of mushrooms Pleurotus sp. could be a valuable source of cell wall glucans for the preparation of food supplements.