Bioactive and Antioxidant Properties of Selenium Enriched Pleurotus Fossulatus

Abstract

The present study was carried out to examine the antioxidant activity in oyster mushroom cultivated on Selenium rich substrate. Pleurotus fossulatus was cultivated on Se-rich wheat straw collected from the seleniferous belt of Punjab (India) and its potential to accumulate selenium from substrate was examined. Further, using different assay systems the modulations in the anti-oxidant profile of Se enriched mushroom was studied in comparison to the mushrooms cultivated on normal straw.The oyster mushrooms were observed to potentially mobilize selenium from Se-rich substrates to fruiting bodies, thus resulting in significantly high uptake. The antioxidant activity, as determined by various assays such as reducing power, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging and metal chelating activity, was higher in experimental mushrooms when compared to control. Results obtained thus demonstrate that Se-fortified mushrooms through cultivation on straw containing organic forms of selenium, can be considered as an natural and effective dietary supplements of organic Se source for humans. The present study, thus, proposes the use of Se-rich agricultural residues as substrates for mushroom cultivation for human and livestock supplementation.