Determination of chemical composition and antioxidant properties of a novel wild edible mushroom

The Yanqi black mushroom is a new wild mushroom resource distributed in Central Asia and in China, it is only present in Xinjiang Province. The goal of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant properties of this mushroom. Based on dry weight, Yanqi black mushroom contained 15.1% ash, 1.68% fat, 1.09% crude polysaccharide, 34.15% protein, 19.62% amino acid, 6.98% essential amino acid, 3.51% mannitol, and 0.75% total phenols. Further, linoleic acid accounted for 87.3% of total fatty acid. The amino acids Glu, Ala, Leu, and Phe amounted to 4.13%, 1.84%, 1.28%, and 0.96% respectively. Methanol extracts were able to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) by 97% at 1.2 mg/ml and 2,2-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid diammonium salt (ABTS(+)) by 99.62% at 0.64 mg/ml. EC50 values for anti-oxidation in the presence of DPPH and ABTS(+) were 0.127 mg/ml and 0.119 mg/ml, respectively. In summary, Yanqi black mushroom was not only a high-protein and low-fat health food but also a natural antioxidant resource.