Beta glucan extraction from Gyromitra spp. mushroom

Abstract

Mushrooms are known to contain vast amounts of glucans. Our chosen research object Gyromitra spp. mushroom was selected for the following reasons: wide availability, esthetical approach and its uninvestigated properties. Beta glucan has unique rheological properties and can be used as food additive or raw material for edible film production. Also, glucans are notable for having antioxidant, antitumor, immunostimulant, antimicrobial, cardioprotective and hepatoprotective properties. Three different methods of extraction were used to quantify beta glucans extracted from Gyromitra spp. mushroom. First method was aqueous extraction. In this method we used milled mushroom powder and water solution in ratio 1:9, heated at 100°C temperature for 4 hours. While using alkaline extraction the ratio of milled mushroom powder and NaOH 1 % solution was 1:15 and required no additional heating. Third method, sonication assisted extraction, was carried out using water and milled mushroom solution while using homogenizator at 80 % amplitude (66,626 kJ). After each method samples were centrifugated and supernatant was separated from hard phase particles. 50 ml of each recovered solution was precipitated using three times ethanol and the precipitant was recovered using centrifugation. Lastly, drying phase was carried out using 50 °C temperature for two days. The results showed, that best method for beta glucan extraction was sonication. It demonstrated, that the biggest yield was 0,8289 g compared to other methods, 0,4796 g alkaline extraction, 0,9348 g aqueous extraction considering the ratio. Furthermore, sonication assisted method can be used for extracting higher amounts of beta glucans while using less raw material.