Fatty Acids Composition of Basidiocarps of Some Wood Associated Medicinal Mushrooms (Agaricomycetes) from India

In this investigation, crude fat contents and fatty acid compositions of lipids present in the basidiocarps of widely distributed, medicinally important, wild mushrooms (<i>Fuscoporia torulosa, Inonotus pachyphloeus, Phellinus allardii, Ph. fastuosus, Ph. gilvus</i> and <i>Ph. sanfordii</i>) collected from different localities of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India were analyzed. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detector was performed to identify and quantify the individual fatty acids present in the lipids of each mushroom. Mushrooms exhibited comparable amounts of crude fats with maximum content (0.35&#37;) in <i>Ph. sanfordii.</i> The dominant fatty acid in the examined mushrooms was palmitic acid (C16:0). Oleic acid (C18:1n9c) and linoleic acid (C18:2n6c) exhibited maximum contents among the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), respectively. Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in<i> F. torulosa, I. pachyphloeus</i> and <i>Ph. fastuosus </i>were at higher concentrations than unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs).<i> Ph. allardii, Ph. gilvus</i> and <i>Ph. sanfordii</i> exhibited greater amounts of UFAs compared with SFAs. Among UFAs, MUFAs dominated the polyunsaturated ones except for<i> I. pachyphloeus</i> and <i>Ph. sanfordii.</i> Of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), the contents of &omega;6 PUFAs were higher than &omega;3 PUFAs except for<i> Ph. gilvus.</i> Interestingly, a single trans fatty acid, elaidic acid (C18:1n-9t) (0.54-2.34&#37;) was noticed in <i>F. torulosa, Ph. fastuosus</i> and <i>Ph. sanfordii</i> only. The examined mushrooms also differed in UFAs/SFAs, MUFAs/SFAs, PUFAs/SFAs, &sum;&omega;6/&sum;&omega;3 and (linoleic acid) C18:2n6c/(oleic acid) C18:1n9c ratios. The presence of essential and non-essential fatty acids may make the examined mushrooms befitting candidates for use in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.