Effect of Some Agricultural Substrates on Production Efficiency of Lentinula edodes (OM432157) and Evaluation of its Vitamins Content

T HE local strain Lentinula edodes (OM432157), which was discovered for the first time in the Iraqi environment, was cultivated in the laboratory using nine treatments based on sawdust as the main substrate. A comparative study was done on the nutritional value of the local strain L. edodes (OM432157) in the wild and the cultivated one. It was observed that the highest growth rate of the fungus strain under study was in T8 (1.8 cm) and the lowest growth rate in T5 1.1 (cm). Fungal tissue growth in treatments (T4, and T5) were required (29 days), while in treatment T8 it was required (26 days), and in other remaining treatments it was accomplished in 25 days. The time required for pin heads to form in T5 was faster (17 days), followed by T8 (18 days) and T9 (19 days). The water-soluble vitamins (C, B1, B2) and the fat-soluble vitamins (E, K, D, A) were analyzed by HPLC. It was found that the cultivated mushrooms were a good source of vitamin B2 (6.9mg/100g dw) while wild mushrooms were a source of vitamin B1 (33.3mg/100g dw). The local strain of the cultivated and wild shiitake mushrooms also contained all fat-soluble vitamins, and the highest content of vitamin A was recorded in the cultivated type (19.9mg/100g dw) and the wild (103mg/100g.dw). These results are the first in Iraq, through which we found that the local strain L. edodes (OM432157), has high nutritional value and can be considered ideal supplements for many low-vitamin