Mushroom flavor and the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis

Abstract

The flavor is an important element constituting mushroom tastes. Therefore, the flavor compounds have been analyzed in various species of mushrooms. Though some mushrooms such as Matsutake and Shiitake have a characteristic flavor compound, major flavor compounds in most mushrooms are volatile C8 compounds: 1-octen-3-ol, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanone and 3-octanol. Lipid peroxidation enzyme, hydroperoxide-cleaving enzyme and oxidoreductase are presumed to be involved in the synthesis, but little information has been obtained about the enzymes. In this paper, the flavor compounds in mushrooms and the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis are described.