Due to its exquisite odor and taste, Boletus edulis Bull.: Fr. mushroom is being increasingly used throughout the world. However, the availability of this product is highly restrained by its seasonality and perishability, demanding special care to keep its quality. Furthermore, mushrooms are often distributed in sliced form, and the slicing operation requires special treatments, besides augmenting the possibility of microbial contamination. Some techniques are currently applied to sliced mushrooms, but these processes had adverse effects on nutrients, odor, texture and taste, besides requiring expensive equipment. Food irradiation is being studied as an alternative technology to improve the quality and durability of determined products, having been previously applied in several mushroom species. Herein, gamma irradiation was applied to dried and sliced samples of B. edulis, at high doses (2, 6 and 10 kGy), and the effects on nutritional, chemical and antioxidant parameters were evaluated throughout storage (6 and 12 months). The results obtained for the chemical parameters do not advised storing B. edulis for such extended periods, since some relevant changes were detected, especially in samples stored for 12 months. In general, the gamma irradiation treatment did not cause further changes in the chemical composition, besides having a slightly positive effect in keeping the antioxidant activity and most of the bioactive compounds profiled in this work, contributing to maintain the potential health effects of this exquisite food, even after extended storage periods.
