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In Tanzania wild edible mushrooms collected during the rainy season have broad cultural
acceptance and constitute a traditionally very important nutritious food. However, their
assessment as food, which is based on their chemical analysis, has not been adequately
studied and documented. The objective of the study was to determine the proximate nutritive
potential of three indigenous edible wild mushrooms namely Coprinus cinereus, (Schaeff) S.
Gray s.lat., Pleurotus flabellatus, (Berk and Br.) Sacc. and Volvariella volvaceae (Bull.ex.Fr)
Singer, grown on composted solid sisal decortication residues. Standard procedures were
used to determine the proximate chemical composition of dried samples of domesticated
indigenous edible wild mushrooms. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to
determine the mineral element composition. The results were compared using an analysis of
variance test. There were significant differences in the proximate nutritive values of the three
edible mushrooms (p>0.05). Despite differences in the chemical composition of the three
indigenous edible mushroom species, the overall nutritional potential of the three mushroom
species was quite good. Furthermore, the overall results indicated that the fruit bodies of the
three native mushrooms studied have nutrient qualities similar to other cultivated exotic
edible mushrooms, and a higher protein content than many cereals and vegetables. The
results on a dry weight basis demonstrated significant amounts of protein, vitamin C and
minerals, ranging from 17-28 %, 33-55 mg/100g and 5.2-3232 mg/100g, respectively.
Furthermore crude fibre ranged between 6.6-11 % and carbohydrate, at 50-62 %, both of
which were found to be relatively high. All three species were low in fat content, with a range
of 1 to 3.3 %, and energy value (calculated), 302-313 kcal/100g. These results indicated that
the studied mushrooms have good nutritive value for human beings. The fact that the
domesticated mushrooms were grown using locally adapted biotechnology increases the
likelihood of their incorporation in the diet as a food item contributing protein, vitamin C and
mineral nutrients. The high crude fibre and low fat content are also important from a
nutritional perspective. The researchers believe that it would be appropriate to popularise the
utilization of the three mushrooms as unconventional protein rich food sources to supplement
the traditional cereal Tanzanian based diet, aimed at combating the problem of protein
malnutrition in Tanzania in particular and in developing counties in general. |
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