Abstract
On the fruiting bodies of most common edible mushrooms in Japan, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pholiota nameko, Tricholoma matsutake, Lyophyllum aggregatum and Flammulina velutipes, free and combined amino acid patterns were examined regarding to the differences between spontaneous and cultivated pecimens and among cultivated ones. The results are as follows.
1. The distribution patterns of free and combined amino acid were quite similar in each species. No difference was found also in the content and distribution of these amino acids among cultivated specimens of P. ostreatus and P. nameko, cultivated industrially at various place, and among spontaneous T. matsutake differed from the harvesting place.
2. The spontaneous specimens of P. ostreatus and P. nameko were found to contain free amino acids less than the cultivated ones contained. Little difference was observed, however, between the spontaneous and cultivated specimens in L. aggregatum and F. velutipes.
3. Free amino acids contained in the pilei of T. matsutake were significantly higher than those in the stipes. The large fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus, cultivated in the authors' laboratory, showed somewhat lower content of the amino acids than the small ones did. P. ostreatus, cultivated in a poor nutrient supplementation, however, contained extremely low level of free amino acids.
4. The following fact was observed in P. nameko throughout its spontaneous and cultivated specimens; little amount of aromatic and basic amino acids was found as free form whereas the amount as combined form was considerably high. The above stated fact should be mentioned as a remarkable nature of this species.
