Mass production of Pleurotus eryngii mycelia under submerged culture conditions with improved minerals and vitamin D2

The study was aimed at the mass production of fungal mycelial biomass of Pleurotus eryngii with enhanced nutritional values through submerged cultivation techniques. Using one factor at a time (OFAT), both physical (Temperature, pH, and RPM) and chemical (carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and C/N ratio) parameters were studied in shake flasks and suitable conditions were selected for the production of the mycelial biomass. The optimized parameters were used for mass production of mushroom mycelia in 100 l fermenter. Further, the harvested mushroom mycelia were exposed to UV-B irradiation. The produced mycelial biomass has an enhanced level of micronutrients (Ca, Co & Fe) and vitamin D2 as compared to its fruiting bodies reported in the literature. The average % composition of ergosterol, protein, crude fat, total ash, moisture, carbohydrate, and crude fiber in dried mycelia was 0.251, 24.52, 6.78, 7.82, 4.86, 18.54 and 55.36 respectively. Vitamin D2 content increased to 320 μg/g from 4.53 μg/g. The mineral composition of Ca, P, K, Mg were 2273.4, 4114.5, 6951.4, and 917.3 μg/g while micro-elements Fe, Zn, Co, and Cu were found to be 79.34, 32.64, 10.09 and 1.12 μg/g respectively in dried mycelia.