Acceleration of mycelia growth by adding Grifola umbellata broth concentrate in solid-state and submerged cultures

Grifola umbellata is one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicinal mushrooms and has also been termed as Polyporus umbellatus or Chuling in scientific reports. A key problem in cultivating G. umbellata is that its mycelia growth is much slower than that of other mushroom species. In this study, a brownish G. umbellata broth concentrate (GBC) harvested at the beginning of the growth phase was collected and used as an additive in the medium to investigate its effect on facilitating mycelium germination. The results showed that the addition of GBC in solid-state culture promoted mycelia growth. Moreover, the GBC addition in submerged culture significantly shortened the lag phase and the maximum mycelia production was enhanced by 18%, from 10.8 to 12.78 g/1. These results demonstrate that GBC is capable of stimulating G. umbellata growth in all respects.