Quantitative estimation of carbohydrate present in Pleurotus spp. cultivated in Jharkhand

Anshu Priyadarshini^a*, Gautam Kumar^b & Anjani Kumar Srivastava^a
a*Department of Botany Ranchi University Ranchi 834001, Jharkhand, India.
^bDepartment of Biotechnology, V.B.U, Hazaribag 825301, Jharkhand, India.

Received ,5th June, 2012 ;Revised: 18th August, 2012

Abstract : Mushroom is found abundantly and is also being cultivated in large quantity in Jharkhand. Some of the commonly cultivated species include, Pleurotus sajor –caju, Pleurotus flabellatus, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus florida. Mushrooms have been valued throughout the world as both food and medicine for thousands of years. They are rich source of nutrition and form a major chunk of health foods. Fats occur in mushrooms in minor amounts, especially compared with protein and carbohydrate and the fatty fraction consists predominantly of unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid. In the present study the carbohydrate content of four different Pleurotus species viz. ostreatus, Pleurotus florida, Pleurotus flabellatus and Pleurotus sajor-caju were estimated and compared using spectrophotometeric techniques. Pleurotus sajor-caju showed the maximum carbohydrate content while Pleurotus ostreatus contains relatively lesser amount.
Key words :Pleurotus spp. Carbohydrate, Spectrophotometry.