Evaluation of Nutraceutical Potential of Morchella esculenta

Abstract

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, which is produced above ground on soil or on its food source. They are considered as having high nutritive value and low calorie food with good quality proteins, some vitamins and minerals. Mushrooms are an important and attractive natural source of food and medicine (Selima Khatun et al., 2011). Mushrooms have gained importance over the last few decades and have become attractive as a functional food and as a source for the development of drugs and nutraceuticals (Lakhanpal and Rana, 2005) responsible with their antioxidant, antitumor (Jones and Janadhanan, 2000) and antimicrobial properties. Mushrooms have important present status for nutraceuticals which possess a potential to design future strategies for improving human health. “A nutraceutical can be defined as a substance that maybe considered a food or a part of a food that provides medical or health benefits like the prevention and treatment of disease by Dr.Stephen DeFelice”. There are many species of mushrooms which are cultivated and wild, edible and non-edible that have been studied for nutritional and nutraceutical components (Lakhanpal and Rana, 2005). The active components found in mushrooms include polysaccharides, dietary fibres, oligosaccharides, triterpenoids, peptides and proteins, alcohols and phenols, and mineral elements such as zinc, copper, iodine, selenium and iron, vitamins, amino acids etc. (Pardeshi and Pardeshi, 2009). Morchella esculenta is one of the most expensive and wild edible mushrooms with a strong flavour and aroma. Morchella esculenta possess anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities (Mau, Chang, Huang, & Chen, 2004; Nitha, Meera, & Janardhanan, 2007; Nitha and Janardhanan, 2008; Nitha, Fijesh, & Janardhanan, 2011; Alves et al., 2012). Morchella esculenta species are reported to minimize oxidative damage in organisms that occurs in several chronic diseases (Ferreira et al., 2009). Phenolic compounds, tocopherols and organic acids are considered to be the most responsible for antioxidant activity of mushrooms (Ferreira et al., 2009; Reis et al., 2012; Leal et al., 2013). Steroids (mainly ergosterol derivatives) and polysaccharides isolated from Morchella esculenta was reported to possess both in vitro and in vivo antioxidant and NF-kappa B inhibiting properties (Meng et al., 2010; Kim, Lau, Tay, & Blanco, 2011). Furthermore, galactomannan was also isolated from it showed immunostimulatory properties (Duncan et al., 2002).