Volatile Composition of Some Cultivated and Wild Culinary-Medicinal Mushrooms from Hungary.

The volatile constituents of the fruiting bodies of 4 culinary-medicinal mushroom species (Agaricus bisporus, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, and Hericium erinaceus) from Hungary were examined to review their aroma composition. Simultaneous distillation/extraction was applied to extract volatile compounds from fungi, and the values were measured with gas chromatography--mass spectrometry. Although the fragrances of fungi are not as characteristic as those of spices, several groups of volatile compounds have been found in mushrooms. The number of identified components ranged between 61 and 100, with a high ratio of 8-carbon volatiles generally occurring in fungi. Beyond common properties, individual attributes have been identified as well: an outstanding ratio of benzene compounds in champignons, numerous N-containing volatiles in boletes, carotenoid degradation products in chanterelles, and esters and fatty acids with a high carbon number in the lion's mane mushroom. The identification of these characteristic fragrance constituents can be very important in differentiating between species and confirming their presence in mushroom products.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry confirmation of the sensory scent features of the most commonly consumed Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus subrufescens exhibiting anticancerous traits.

In Hungary, fairly little is known about Agaricus subrufescens Peck (formerly called Agaricus blazei Murrill), which is cultivated on an industrial scale in the Far East. Nevertheless, this mushroom species exerts a curative influence and might become a new pillar of cancer research and antitumorous therapy. The present study gives a detailed discussion on the compositional differences of the scent components of A. subrufescens and its close relative Agaricus bisporus based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measurements, subsequent to Likens-Nickerson simultaneous distillation-extraction.