EMIRATES JOURNAL OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, cilt.27, sa.7, ss.532-536, 2015 (SCI-Expanded)
Mushrooms have been recognized as important food items due to their high nutritional and medicinal value. The present work quantifies and compares the fatty acids composition among eleven mushroom species (Auricularia auricular-judae, Collybia dryophila, Rammulina ve/utipes, Helvella lacunose, Polyporus squamosus, Rhizopogon roseolus, Russula albonigra, Russula delica, Sparassis crispa, collinitus and Volvariella gloiocephala) harvested from Turkey. The lipid contents of the mushrooms varied from 0.13% (Auricularla auricula-judae) to 2.90% (Sparassis crispa). A total of 14 fatty acids were identified and quantified by gas chromatography in the selected mushrooms species with linoleic (13.17 to 79.41%), oleic (0.71 to 55.07%) and palmitic (8.95 to 30.84%) acids as the major components in the tested mushrooms species. The amount of total saturated fatty acids (SFAs), total monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) and total polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) ranged from 13.97 to 59.44%, 0.94 to 55.44% and 13.54 to 79.93%, respectively. Moreover, the mushrooms tested can be explored as a rich dietary source of essential fatty acids (13.34-79.76%) for human nutrition.