Portuguese wild mushrooms at the “pharma-nutrition” interface: Nutritional characterization and antioxidant properties

The search for foods that might improve health or reduce disease risk, has been progressively gaining interest. Mushroom could be examples of these foods, presenting the additional advantage of being recognized as a delicacy. This feature might place mushrooms in the pharma-nutrition interface. Herein, eight different mushroom species were characterized in terms of nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fat, individual sugars, fatty acids) and bioactive compounds (tocopherols, carotenoids, organic acids and phenolic compounds) with recognized antioxidant properties. These medicinal properties are often related with the antioxidant potential presented by mushroom extracts. Boletus regius was the species with the highest levels of carbohydrates (88.79 g/100 g dw) and PUFA (56.55%), bioactive compounds such as tocopherols (763.80 μg/100 g dw), citric acid (3.32 g/100 g dw) and phenolic compounds (23.49 mg/100 g dw), including two chrysin derivatives, presenting also the highest antioxidant activity. The identified bioactive compounds might be used as nutraceuticals to prevent chronic diseases related with oxidative stress. Furthermore, all tested species are edible, and could be incorporated directly in diet acting as functional foods.

► Mushrooms are in the pharma-nutrition interface. ► Boletus regius was the species with the highest amount of bioactive compounds. ► Tocopherols, citric acid and phenolic compounds were examples. ► Two chrysin derivatives were found in the mentioned species. ► Boletus regius revealed the highest antioxidant activity.