Bioactive compounds in Latvian wild edible mushroom Boletus edulis.

Considering the interest for mushrooms and the demand to search for natural antioxidants and other sou rces of bioactive-compounds, the aim of this study was to i nvestigate the content of bioactive compounds of tw o widely used wild edible mushrooms Boletus edulis f. beticola and Boletus edulis f. pinicola collected at Jelgava and Riga regions in Latvia. Ash amount was determined to characterize the mineral content; protein was det ermined by Lowry method (325‐526 mg g -1 of dried mushrooms). Using HPLC the phenolic compounds like gallic acid, caffeic acid, catechin, epicatechin and rutin were detected and quantified. β-carotene and lycopene were determined. DPPH assay was used to evaluate free radical-scavenging activity. In water extracts titrat able acidity (0.22‐0.26 mmol of NaOH per g of dry mushroom matter) and formol number (0.74‐1.40 mmol NaOH per g of dry mushroom matter) were determined. The total content of phenols (TP) as determined by Folin-Ciocalt eu assay was higher in the water extracts (11.2‐12.5 m g of gallic acid equivalents GAE per 1 g of dry mus hroom matter) than in methanol extracts (7.3‐8.0 mg of GAE per 1 g of dry mushroom matter). The total conten t of flavonoids (TF) was higher in the water extracts (0 .33‐0.37 mg of QE per 1 g of dry mushroom matter) than in methanol extracts (0.13 mg of quercetin equivalents QE per 1 g of dry mushroom matter).