Evaluation of the nutritional value, mycochemicals, and antioxidant activities of Hericium erinaceus cultivated using jasmine rice

Hericium erinaceus is a medicinal mushroom that has various health benefits. The cultivation of mushrooms with solid substrates was previously reported to improve their chemical compositions and bioactivities. The effect of the solid-state cultivation of H. erinaceus using jasmine rice media was evaluated with regard to the nutritional value, mycochemicals, and antioxidant activities of the cultivated products. White jasmine rice (R1) and a mixture of white and red jasmine rice (R2) were used as growth substrates for H. erinaceus. The products of their cultivation, such as rice-fermented mycelia (MR1 and MR2) and basidiomata (BR1 and BR2), were assessed to determine their nutritive contents, mycochemicals, and antioxidant activities compared to unfermented rice (R1 and R2) and commercial basidiome (BS). The nutritional values were measured quantitatively, while the mycochemicals were evaluated qualitatively. The antioxidant activity was measured using the level of DPPH scavenging activity. The results showed that H. erinaceus was successfully cultivated on jasmine rice media. The pH of the media was positively correlated with mycelia growth. The R2-fermented mycelium (MR2) product had higher protein levels (11.40 g/100g) compared to unfermented R2 (6.74 g/100g). Basidiome cultivated on R2 media (BR2) exhibited higher protein levels (15.06 g/100g) compared to commercial basidiome (BS) (10.45 g/100 g). The rice-fermented mycelia contained alkaloids, terpenoids, and saponins. The MR2 sample showed the highest level of antioxidant activity (IC50=1.26 mg/ml). These findings suggested that cultivation on jasmine rice enhanced the nutritional value and mycochemical compositions of H. erinaceus, with beneficial antioxidant activity.