Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of the Mushroom Auricularia auricula -judae

Chemical composition of Auricularia auricula-judae fungus, used as a raw material for producing therapeutic and medicinal agents and as a food material has not been reported yet. Main components of this cultivated fungus (ash, protein, fat, total carbohydrate), water-soluble polysaccharide, cellulose, chitin, pectin, uronic acids, amino acid and mineral element contents, as well as neutral sugar composition were determined. This fungus contains 3.6% of ash, 12.5% of protein, 1.7% of fat and a large amount of carbohydrates (66.1%) per dry matter. Gas-liquid chromatography demonstrated the following monosaccharide composition of dry biomass: glucose (15.0%), mannose (10.7%), xylose (1.5%), galactose (0.6%). A. auricula-judae was shown to be a good source of almost all essential amino acids (34.7% of total) as compared to plant proteins, with the umami taste aminoacids present in content typical of mushrooms (25%). Its average calorific value is 327.7 kcal/100 g of dry matter. Results showed this fungus is a good source of healthy nutrients.