Recovery of ergosterol and vitamin D2 from mushroom waste - Potential valorization by food and pharmaceutical industries

Abstract

Background: A large amount of mushroom waste is generated during mushroom production (accounting for up to 20% of total production) and is mainly composed of mushrooms that do not meet the specifications set by retailers because of misshapen caps and/or stalks. Mushrooms are notable for their ergosterol (a precursor of vitamin D-2) content which is converted to vitamin D-2 after exposure to natural or artificial ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Therefore, mushroom waste could be used as a source for the recovery of both ergosterol and vitamin D-2 which could be valorized by both pharmaceutical and food industries.Scope and approach: The current review presents a comprehensive summary of research performed regarding the extraction, purification and determination of ergosterol and vitamin D-2 (ergocalciferol) from mushroom matrices. Additionally, studies related to the impact of sample preparation and especially of drying methods on the retention of ergosterol and vitamin D-2 are presented. Finally, the potential valorization of mushroom waste sterols by food and pharmaceutical industries is discussed.Key findings and conclusions: Ergosterol and vitamin D-2 contents vary among different mushroom species. Sample drying is a crucial step that precedes sterol extraction and has a significant impact on the retention of ergosterol and vitamin D-2. The extraction of sterols from mushrooms can be conducted by either conventional (e.g., Soxhlet extraction) or non-conventional methods (e.g., ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), deep eutectic solvents (DES) extraction, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE)) or their combination. The application of non-conventional methods such as UAE and MAE facilitate in shorter extraction times than the conventional methods. The valorization of mushroom extracts enriched in ergosterol and vitamin D-2 by both pharmaceutical and food industries requires further work.

Keywords

Ergocalciferol; Sterols; Sustainable extraction; Sample preparation; Saponification; Ergosterol

Published in

Trends in Food Science and Technology
2020, volume: 99, pages: 351-366
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON

SLU Authors

• Papoutsis, Konstantinos

  • University College Dublin

UKÄ Subject classification

Food Science
Environmental Sciences

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2020.03.005

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131931