Proximate composition, amino acids and vitamins profile of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Singer: an indigenous mushroom in Kenya.

摘要

There are many species of indigenous mushrooms in Kenya which form part of the traditional food system but whose nutritional and cultivation studies have not been completely determined and hence under utilized. The indigenous P. citrinopileatus was collected from Kakamega forest in Western Kenya, characterized and grown at the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute laboratories. The objective of this study was to evaluate indigenous P. citrinopileatus mushroom with the aim of qualifying and quantifying chemical information that might serve as a guide to exploit its potentials and benefits for human nutrition. The proximate composition (moisture, energy, fibre, crude fat, ash, minerals and protein) and amino acids contents (by high performance liquid chromatography) and vitamins of the indigenous P. citrinopileatus mushroom were determined. Proximate analysis of P. citrinopileatus revealed that it contained 22.10% protein, 1.32% crude lipid and 20.78% fibre. The mushroom was also found to contain variable amounts of minerals. The most predominant mineral found in the mushroom was Potassium with value of 2.28%. Copper, zinc and iron minerals were generally low with values from 0.0002, 0.0015 and 0.01%, respectively. Eight essential amino acids were detected namely Leucine>Valine>Threonine>Lysine>Phenylalanine>Isoleucine>Methionine>Tryptophan in decreasing order of abundance. Glutamic acid though non-essential was present in high proportion (3.07%). Vitamin B₃ (Nicotinic acid), vitamin B₅ (Pantothenic acid) and vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin) were the most abundant vitamins in all samples analyzed. While vitamin B₁₂ (Cyanocobalamin) and vitamin A (retinol) were the least with values of 0.3 and <10 mug/100 g, respectively. In conclusion, Pleurotus citrinopileatus mushroom can be an excellent source of micronutrients and antioxidants components.