Nutritional and antioxidant properties of wild edible macrofungi from North-Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, India is home to diverse form of macrofungi some of which are excellently edible and commonly used by local peoples as food and medicine. The nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of four wild edible macrofungi, viz. Calocybe gambosa, Calocybe indica, Macrolepiota procera and Tuber aestivum collected from different areas of Gorakhpur were evaluated. The total phenol content of each species along with some bioactive compounds was analysed. The nutrient composition of these macrofungi showed that they are rich source of protein and carbohydrate. Protein, carbohydrate, lipid, fibre, moisture and ash ranged from 31.40-49.05%, 41.25-65.00%, 0.27-1.08%, 6.41-17.97%, 54.75-76.97%, 2.64-10.34%, respectively on dry weight basis. Total phenol contents (major antioxidants components) ranged from 23.89-38.37GAEmg/gm in different macrofungi. Current study confirms that macrofungi are healthy source of food and medicine can also be use as alternative source of protein in human diet.