# Nutritional Composition and Biological Properties of Sixteen Edible Mushroom Species
## 5 Nutritional Value  
Mushrooms are a good source of proteins and amino acids apart from vitamins and minerals. Their protein content varies from 14-39% on a dry weight basis as we see from the analysis below. Mushroom proteins contain most of the essential amino acids. They are also rich in carbohydrates. Total carbohydrates of dry mushrooms were also found to vary from 61.34% (_Grifola fondosa_) to 32% (_Amanita caesarea_) on the dry wt. basis. It is mainly composed of mannitol, glycogen, and hemicellulose together with a smaller amount of reducing sugars. Mushrooms are rich in different kinds of vitamins and minerals which are absent in several vegetables and meat. Drying, especially when high temperatures are applied, can cause the degradation of polysaccharides, proteins, and flavor compounds. Freezing is one of the best methods to extend mushrooms' shelf life but causes the loss of vitamins. Edible coatings and films improve the total sugar, ascorbic acid, and bioactive compounds preservation during the storage period [103]. Nutritional values of some commonly consumed mushrooms are given below (Tables 1-3). Mushrooms have a strong capacity to absorb potentially toxic trace elements from soils, including mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As), accumulate them in their bodies, and their concentrations in mushrooms can exceed the levels as found in other papers [104]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Mushroom Species** & **Ash** & **Energy** & **Protein** & **Sugar** & **Carbohydrates** & **Fibres** & **Fat** & **Saturated** & **Unsaturated** & **Salt** \\ \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Agaricus bisporns_} & 9.3 & 336 Kcal/100 g-1424 Kj/100 g & 25.1 & \(<\)0.1 & 52.7 & 2.9 & 1.4 & 23.9 & 76.1 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Agaricus Blazei_} & 8.4 & 335 Kcal/100 g-1418 Kj/100 g & 28.6 & \(<\)0.1 & 48.4 & 6.0 & 1.6 & 41.8 & 58.2 & 1.0 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Amantia caesarean_} & 14.4 & 304 Kcal/100 g-1276 Kj/100 g & 24.0 & \(<\)0.1 & 31.9 & 14.9 & 5.6 & 29.9 & 70.1 & 1.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Boletas editis_} & 6.4 & 347 Kcal/100 g-1453 Kj/100 g & 21.9 \(\pm\) 0.2 & \(<\)0.1 & 59.2 & 9.9 & 2.6 & 26.2 & 73.8 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Cantharellus cibarius_} & 13.2 & 298 Kcal/100 g-1257 Kj/100 g & 19.9 & \(<\)0.1 & 43.5 & 12.4 & 2.2 & 42.3 & 57.8 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Coprius comatus_} & 10.5 & 298 Kcal/100 g-1260 Kj/100 g & 14.2 & \(<\)0.1 & 53.8 & 12.3 & 0.9 & 24.3 & 75.7 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Cordeyps millitarius_} & 4.4 & 317 Kcal/100 g-1341 Kj/100 g & 23.1 & 0.9 & 49.3 & 11.9 & 0.4 & 34.7 & 65.5 & 0.3 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Craterellus comucopoides_} & 13.3 & 329 Kcal/100 g-1387 Kj/100 g & 19.5 & \(<\)0.1 & 45.7 & 7.7 & 5.9 & 30.4 & 69.6 & 0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Craterellus lutescens_} & 8.9 & 342 Kcal/100 g-1440 Kj/100 g & 14.5 & \(<\)0.1 & 52.4 & 12.3 & 5.5 & 44.0 & 55.4 & 0.5 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Gandorma_} & 2.8 & 367 Kcal/100 g-1553 Kj/100 g & 19.2 & \(<\)0.1 & 57.8 & 11.3 & 2.1 & 21.7 & 78.3 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Incilium_} & 1.5 & 346 Kcal/100 g-1462 Kj/100 g & 13.8 & 0.3 & 61.3 & 11.4 & 2.6 & 22.9 & 77.1 & 0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Grifola fondosa_} & 7.1 & 355 Kcal/100 g-1502 Kj/100 g & 19.9 & \(<\)0.1 & 59.2 & 3.3 & \(3.6\pm 0.1\) & 41.8 & 58.2 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Hericium cernicaces_} & 6.1 & 340 Kcal/100 g-1443 Kj/100 g & 20.7 & \(<\)0.1 & 59.5 & 3.8 & 1.3 & 25.3 & 74.7 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Cartinella_} & 1.3 & 355 Kcal/100 g-1500 Kj/100 g & 38.5 & \(<\)0.1 & 36.1 & 11.6 & 3.8 & 36.0 & 64.0 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Marcallia elata_} & 11.5 & 306 Kcal/100 g-1291 Kj/100 g & 28.2 & \(<\)0.1 & 33.5 & 13.4 & 3.6 & 12.8 & 87.3 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{_Plenoratus citronipoletas_} & 7.9 & 330 Kcal/100 g-1395 Kj/100 g & 37.6 & \(<\)0.1 & 36.3 & 7.0 & 2.2 & 42.1 & 57.9 & \(<\)0.1 \\ \multicolumn{1}{c}{} & & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
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