Chemical composition and non-volatile components of Croatian wild edible mushrooms

The chemical composition (dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, total carbohydrates, and ash) and nonvolatile components content (soluble sugars, free amino acids, and 5'-nucleotides) of 10 popular Croatian wild edible mushroom species (Agaricus campestris, Boletus edulis, Calocybe gambosa, Cantharellus cibarius, Craterellus cornucopioides, Entoloma clypeatum, Flammulina velutipes, Macroleptiota procera, Morchella elata, and Pleurotus ostreatus) were determined. All investigated mushrooms were found to be good sources of proteins and total carbohydrates, with contents varying in the ranges of 27.95-38.89, and 42.62-66.78 g/100 g, respectively. In addition, the fat contents were very low 1.34-6.45 g/100 g. B. edulis (19.87 mg/g) showed the highest concentration of essential amino acids and M. elata (14.25 mg/g) the lowest concentration. Monosodium glutamate-like components and total flavour 5'-nucleotides were the highest in C. cornucopioides (45.85 and 13.88 mg/g, respectively), and lowest in F. velutipes (7.63 and 1.05 mg/g, respectively). Equivalent umami concentration values in 10 Croatian wild edible mushrooms ranged from 73.78 to 1186.45g MSG/100 g dry weight, and overall, all these mushrooms possessed highly umami taste. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.