抄録
Grifola gargal Singer, which is an edible mushroom with a characteristic almond favor,is naturally found only in limited areas of Chile and Argentina in South America. Thus, very few studies of this wood-rotting fungus not only regarding its morphological, physiological and biological characteristics but about its cultivation have been reported. In our study, the fruit body formation of G. gargal in artificial wood meal media was achieved, and the major flavor product from the fruit bodies and the mycelia of G.gargal was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis to be benzaldehyde.
In this research, the vitamin D and ergosterol contents in G.gargal were analyzed in order to determine the nutritional property of G.gargal. The cultivated mushroom of G.gargal contained remarkably high amounts of vitamin D as compared to those of cultivated mushrooms such as maitake (G.frondosa) and shiitake (Lentinula edodes). The amount of vitamin D in G.gargal significantly increased with exposure to the light of fluorescent lamps during the period of fruiting body formation. In addition, the vitamin D content of G.gargal increased up to 20-fold （about 5.3 mｇ/100g dry wt.）after irradiation by UV-light at the wavelength 245nm for 2 hours. Therefore, G.gargal can be expected to be a healthy food for preventing rickets in children and osteoporsis in adults as a potential source of vitamin D. It would become possible in the near future to commercially supply a new type edible mushroom with an almond flavor and rich vitamin D to the Japanese market by artificially cultivating G.gargal in wood meal media.
