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Development of a Novel Methodology for the Analysis of Ergosterol in Mushrooms

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Abstract

Sterols are important molecules in the unsaponifiable fraction of several matrices. Ergosterol, which is an important vitamin D2 precursor, is clearly the main sterol in mushrooms. Herein, an analytical method for ergosterol determination in cultivated and wild mushrooms was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detection. The chromatographic separation was achieved in an Inertsil 100A ODS-3 reversed-phase column using an isocratic elution with acetonitrile/methanol (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Different extraction methodologies were tested, using n-hexane, methanol/dichloromethane (75:25, v/v) or chloroform/methanol (20:10, v/v). The method was optimised using Fistulina hepatica and proved to be reproductive and accurate. Ergosterol was the most abundant sterol by a greater extent in all mushrooms. In general, the cultivated species showed higher contents, mainly Agaricus bisporus and Lentinus edodes. Among wild species, Boletus edulis was the mushroom with the highest content in ergosterol. Results were expressed in fat content, dry weight and fresh weight bases. The assessment of ergosterol amounts might be very useful due to the bioactive potential that has been attributed to this molecule and its derivatives.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU for the financial support of this work (research project PTDC/AGRALI/110062/2009) and to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011). J.C.M. Barreira also thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for his grant (SFRH/BPD/72802/2010).

Conflict of Interest

João C.M. Barreira declares that he has no conflict of interest. M. Beatriz P.P. Oliveira declares that she has no conflict of interest. Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira declares that she has no conflict of interest. João C.M. Barreira has a research grant from FCT. None of the authors have a financial relationship with the organisation that sponsored the research. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIMO/Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Apartado 1172, 5301-855, Bragança, Portugal

    João C. M. Barreira & Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

  2. REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, da Universidade do Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    João C. M. Barreira & M. Beatriz P. P. Oliveira

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  1. João C. M. Barreira
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  2. M. Beatriz P. P. Oliveira
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  3. Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira
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Correspondence to Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira.

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Barreira, J.C.M., Oliveira, M.B.P.P. & Ferreira, I.C.F.R. Development of a Novel Methodology for the Analysis of Ergosterol in Mushrooms. Food Anal. Methods 7, 217–223 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-013-9621-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-013-9621-9

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