Study and characterization of selected nutrients in wild mushrooms from Portugal by gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography

The present work aims at contributing to the documentation of the nutritional composition of wild mushrooms. Fatty acid and sugar profiles of 10 different Portuguese wild mushrooms were obtained by gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a refraction index detector (HPLC/RID), respectively, the latter methodology being then completely validated. The macronutrient profile in general revealed that the wild mushrooms were rich sources of protein (24.32–76.63 g/100 g) and carbohydrates (10.35–55.48 g/100 g), and had low amounts of fat (0.36–2.63 g/100 g). The highest energetic contribution was guaranteed by Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca. The analysis of fatty acid composition allowed the quantification of 25 fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids and, in particular, oleic and linoleic acids, were predominant (17–61% and 20–54%, respectively). In the analysis of free sugars, all the compounds were separated in a period of time of 10 min; the method used proved to be sensitive, reproducible and accurate. Arabinose (1.53–7.66 g/100 g), mannitol (0.38–18.41 g/100 g) and trehalose (0.21–18.66 g/100 g) were the most abundant sugars.