EVALUATION OF EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SUBSTRATES ON MUSHROOM PRODUCTION AND THEIR BIOACTIVE POTENTIAL

Abstract

Mushrooms are not plants, and require different conditions for optimal growth. Mushrooms derive all of their energy and growth materials from their growth medium, through biochemical decomposition processes. Pleurotus florida, Calocybe indica ranks second among the important cultivated mushroom in the world. It is one of the commonly used edible mushrooms as it is low in calories and fat, rich in amino acids, protein, vitamin, chitin and minerals. They also contain high amounts of amino butyric acid, ornithine, ascorbic acid, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid. Mushrooms need anti-bacterial and antifungal compounds to survive in their natural environment. Therefore, antimicrobial compounds could be isolated from many mushroom species and could be of benefit for humans. As a matter of fact, macro fungi produce a large number of metabolites that show antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitumor, hypoglycemic, antiallergic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, hypo-lipidemic, and hepatoprotective activity. This paper was investigated on the cultivation of oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus (local & exotic strains) and P. sajarcaju were conducted to find out the growth and yield performance on different substrates and their antimicrobial activity against some human pathogens.