Chemical composition and nutritional value of nine wild edible mushrooms from Northwestern Tunisia

The chemical composition evaluation and the nutritional value of nine most widespread wild edible mushroom species (Agaricus arvensis, Cantharellus cibarius, C. lutescens, Craterellus cornucopioides, Hericium erinaceus, Hydnum repandum, Lactarius deliciosus, Pleurotus pulmonarius, and Ramaria flavescens) and much collected in northwestern Tunisia, have been analyzed and determined according to standard methodologies. The chemical composition of edible mushrooms was validated by statistical PCA analyzes. Overall results showed that most of the studied species had interesting values for almost all measured variables. In particular, the species H. erinaceus had the highest quantity of carbohydrates (89.70%), oleic (24.05%), and docosahexaenoic acid (3.19%), phenolic compounds (11.25 mg g-1 dw), flavonoids (57.5 mg g-1 d.w), and minerals K, Mg and Ca but also the lowest content of proteins (4.80%) and carbohydrates (3.96%). On the other hand, the species P. pulmonarius had the lowest lipid content (7.30%) and the lowest caloric value (371.76 Kcal). These promising data can be exploited by taking advantage of the high-quality nutritional value of these interesting species.