Comparison of Fumigation and Immersion of Essential Oils on Quality and Physiology of Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms (Lentinus edodes)

Corresponding Author: Yanjie Li School of Agricultural Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China; Email: yanjie0227@163.com Abstract: The effects of different essential oils with fumigation or immersion on sensory and physiological quality of fresh shiitake mushrooms were evaluated during the storage. Shiitake mushrooms were treated with essential oils (grapefruit essential oil, rosemary essential oil, cinnamon essential oil) by fumigation and immersion respectively. The surface color, browning degree, sensory evaluation, hardness, soluble protein content, total phenolic content and DPPH· scavenging ability of shiitake mushrooms were measured during the storage. The results showed that hardness, sensory qualities and soluble protein decreased gradually with the extension of storage period in all the treatments and rosemary essential oil had better effect on maintaining cap color, sensory quality, total phenolic content and DPPH· scavenging ability compared with other treatments. In general, immersion treatment showed better effect on shiitake mushrooms preservation than fumigation treatment.