Fruiting bodies of Fistulina hepatica lack ascorbic acid but contain ascorbic acid analogs (6-deoxyascorbate and erythroascorbate)

Abstract

Edible mushrooms, especially <i>Fistulina hepatica</i>, contain substantial concentrations of l-ascorbate (vitamin C; AsA). In this study, we determined AsA in cultivated <i>F. hepatica</i> fruiting bodies using an official AsA assay method from the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. Additionally, we used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to clarify whether the fruiting bodies of <i>F. hepatica</i> contain AsA that can function as a vitamin in humans. A considerable amount of AsA (approximately 406 mg/100 g dry weight) was detected in cultivated <i>F. hepatica</i> fruiting bodies using the official method from the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. Additionally, while two fungus ascorbate analogs, 6-deoxyascorbate and erythroascorbate, were detected by GC-MS, AsA was absent.