The fungus Agaricus subrufescens is grown commercially in China, the USA, Brazil, Taiwan and Japan, among others. However, each country adopts a cultivation system that significantly influences the agronomical parameters and chemical composition of the harvested mushrooms. In this study, the influence of the cultivation process on the content of ergosterol and vitamin D2 was evaluated. RESULTS: Four commercial strains of A. subrufescens (ABL 04/49, ABL CS7, ABL 18/01 and ABL 19/01) and two environmental cultivation conditions (in the field and a controlled chamber with the absence of sunlight) were used. Infield cultivation, ABL CS7 and ABL 19/01 strains presented better agronomic parameters, whereas in a protected environment ABL 19/01, ABL 04/49 and ABL 18/01 demonstrated better performance, respectively. The highest biological efficiency value (64%) was provided by ABL 19/01 strain in a controlled environment. CONCLUSION: The highest content in ergosterol (990 mg kg−1) and vitamin D2 (36.8 mg kg−1) were observed in mushrooms obtained in the field from strain ABL 04/49, which presents reasonable agronomic parameters for cultivation.
This research was funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa
do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP No. 2017/22501-2 for CVS,
2019/12605-0 for DMMS and 2018/21492-2 for DCZ, 19/00419-8
for WGVJ). The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science
and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through
national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); national
funding by FCT, PI, through the institutional scientific employment
program contracts for A Fernandes and L Barros. This work
is funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds
(FEEI) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020,
within the scope of Project Mobilizador ValorNatural®.
