COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS IN VARNA REGION WITH OTHER FOREIGN GEOGRAPHIC ZONES

Purpose: The interest in evaluation of real knowledge of wild edible mushrooms at individual and population level increases mainly in developing countries. The purpose of our inquiry study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of the wild mushrooms in a random sample from the population of Varna region in Bulgaria. Material/Methods: We performed an anonymous questionnaire investigation of 200 adult individuals, 100 males and 100 females, from Varna region, including 17 potential opinions from their personal knowledge of wild edible mushroom usage. Statistical data processing was performed using descriptive methods, variation and correlation analyses. Results: Most respondents acquired their knowledge of wild edible mushrooms from their relatives. From all 200 persons investigated 78 respondents were not capable of recognizing at least one wild edible mushroom at all. More respondents trusted other people, who have very good experience with preparation of wild mushrooms, thus relying on differentiation of a mushroom poison. Their awareness was associated with their capacity to properly recognize wild mushrooms as well as their long-term practice to recognize toxic mushrooms. Just a minority of respondents shared that wild mushrooms in their vicinity could be a problem and had a slight idea of mycotherapy. Only two females had heard about training for wild mushroom recognition. There were statistically significant correlation dependences between respondent’s awareness of wild edible mushrooms, on one hand, and individual sex status, educational level and main residence, on the other hand. Conclusion: Our study identified two most recognized wild edible mushroom species in Varna region, edible boletus (Boletus edulis Bull) and parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera S. F. Gray). Most respondents acquired their knowledge of wild edible mushrooms from relatives. A problem-oriented training of the population on this topic should be performed to improve awareness of common mushroom features and avoid mushroom poisoning.

ANALYSIS OF USAGE AND QUALITY OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS BY PEOPLE FROM BULGARIA, COMPARED TO OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Purpose: Wild edible mushrooms are collected and consumed for centuries worldwide and in Bulgaria as well. This questionnaire investigation aimed at assessing some common mushroom usage practices in a random sample from the population in Varna region, Bulgaria. Material/Methods: We performed a study of 200 adult individuals, 100 males and 100 females, from Varna region using anonymous questionnaire with 12 basic items about wild edible mushroom usage. Statistical data processing was performed using descriptive methods and correlation analysis. Results: There was a prevalence of male and female individuals with secondary and higher education. Most respondents preferred wild edible mushroom gathering in contrast to purchasing. The positive attitude towards wild edible mushroom usage as food is more common in males than in females. Most respondents consumed wild edible mushroom several times during any year. There were statistically significant correlations between urban main residence, on one hand, and wild edible mushroom non-nutritional usage, cooking, drying, preservation and freezing, on the other hand; between secondary educational level, on one hand, and positive attitude towards nutritional usage of wild edible mushrooms, wild edible mushroom cooking, preservation, freezing and drying and applications as therapeutic means; as well as between individual female sex belonging and wild edible mushroom applications as therapeutic means, on the other hand. Conclusion: This questionnaire investigation revealed several interesting peculiarities of the attitudes towards wild edible mushrooms among the population of Varna region and the extent of usage of common mushrooms depending on sex, educational level and main residence of respondents.

Ethnomycological research in the field of wild mushrooms and medicinal plants

During the recent years, there is an increased interest in the problems of wild mushrooms and medicinal plants in all over the world. An intensive research is currently performed in order to further clarify the peculiarities of numerous edible, toxic and cultivated wild mushrooms and medicinal plants. Both traditional and contemporary knowledge of the population is assessed by means of a variety of ethnomycological and ethnobotanical methods. The manners of usage by the population of wild edible mushroom and medicinal plants are intensively studied in many countries, too. In the present review article, the results from some recent investigations by Bulgarian and foreign authors devoted to the knowledge and use of some popular wild mushrooms and medicinal plants are summarized. The necessity for the intensification of the collaborative ethnomycological and ethnobotanical research in Europe is outlined.

The content of silver, aluminum, and zinc in wild edible mushroom Macrolepiota procera

The content of selected elements (Ag, Al, and Zn) in wild edible Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera Scop. Singer) collected from five sites in Slovakia – Lazy pod Makytou, Lozorno, Nemečky, Tesáre, and Zbyňov was investigated. The element analysis was determined using the ICP-OES method. The average concentrations of Ag, Al, and Zn in M. procera caps ranged as follows: 0.41 – 3.23, 16.6 – 113, and 73.4 – 111 mg kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Also, Spearman’s correlation test was used to determine the correlations between Parasol mushroom caps and stems in the content of Ag, Al, and Zn. Subsequently, the obtained data on the content of the monitored elements in M. procera caps were used for the evaluation of health risks arising from the consumption of M. procera. Although mushrooms are an important part of the diet, they are consumed mainly as a seasonal delicacy therefore, the intake of the monitored elements from the consumption of M. procera may be limited. Regular and long-term consumption of M. procera caps from investigated sites does not pose any health risks to the consumers.

Phytochemical Properties and In-vitro Antimicrobial Potency of Wild Edible Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) obtained from Yenagoa, Nigeria

Microorganism resistance to synthetic antibiotics is an increasing public health challenge, therefore, new antimicrobial agents from different plant and biological sources are sought-after. This research was aimed at evaluating the phytochemical properties and antimicrobial potency of wild edible mushrooms. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis was done using the standard method of Association of Official Analytical Chemist and agar well diffusion method was used for antimicrobial analysis. Phytochemical results of wild edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus obtained from Yenagoa, shows varying quantities of tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides and steroids. The methanol and aqueous extracts of the samples reveals different degree of inhibition on both bacteria and fungi (Shigella sp., Staphylococcus sp., Vibrio sp., Escherichia coli, Penicillium sp., Yeast and Moulds). Aqueous extracts were more effective on the test organisms when compared to methanol extracts. P. ostreatus showed good antimicrobial potency against all the microorganisms tested. The findings from this study show the efficacy of wild edible mushroom as a potent antimicrobial agent

Exploring the Species Diversity of Edible Mushrooms in Yunnan, Southwestern China, by DNA Barcoding

Yunnan Province, China, is famous for its abundant wild edible mushroom diversity and a rich source of the world’s wild mushroom trade markets. However, much remains unknown about the diversity of edible mushrooms, including the number of wild edible mushroom species and their distributions. In this study, we collected and analyzed 3585 mushroom samples from wild mushroom markets in 35 counties across Yunnan Province from 2010 to 2019. Among these samples, we successfully obtained the DNA barcode sequences from 2198 samples. Sequence comparisons revealed that these 2198 samples likely belonged to 159 known species in 56 different genera, 31 families, 11 orders, 2 classes, and 2 phyla. Significantly, 51.13% of these samples had sequence similarities to known species at lower than 97%, likely representing new taxa. Further phylogenetic analyses on several common mushroom groups including 1536 internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences suggested the existence of 20 new (cryptic) species in these groups. The extensive new and cryptic species diversity in wild mushroom markets in Yunnan calls for greater attention for the conservation and utilization of these resources. Our results on both the distinct barcode sequences and the distributions of these sequences should facilitate new mushroom species discovery and forensic authentication of high-valued mushrooms and contribute to the scientific inventory for the management of wild mushroom markets.

Microbiome Community Structure and Functional Gene Partitioning in Different Micro-Niches Within a Sporocarp-Forming Fungus

Thelephora ganbajun is a wild edible mushroom highly appreciated throughout China. The microbiomes of some fungal sporocarps have been studied, however, their potential functional roles currently remain uncharacterized. Here, functional gene microarrays (GeoChip 5.0) and amplicon sequencing were employed to define the taxonomic and functional attributes within three micro-niches of T. ganbajun. The diversity and composition of bacterial taxa and their functional genes differed significantly (p < 0.01) among the compartments. Among 31,117 functional genes detected, some were exclusively recorded in one sporocarp compartment: 1,334 genes involved in carbon (mdh) and nitrogen fixation (nifH) in the context; 524 genes influencing carbon (apu) and sulfite reduction (dsrB, dsra) in the hymenophore; and 255 genes involved in sulfur oxidation (soxB and soxC) and polyphosphate degradation (ppx) in the pileipellis. These results shed light on a previously unknown microbiome and functional gene partitioning in sporome compartments of Basidiomycota. This also has great implications for their potential ecological and biogeochemical functions, demonstrating a higher genomic complexity than previously thought.