ABSTRACT:
Mushrooms are a high valued source of nutrition and mineral constituents which are of paramount importance in the present age. Here, different nutritional parameters, i.e., protein, carbohydrate, fat, amino acid, crude fiber and mineral contents of Ramaria aurea were evaluated. Results showed that this mushroom had significant amount of carbohydrate, protein, free amino acids and crude fiber where as low amount of fat signifies its importance as diet for the sufferers of diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, etc. Mineral analyses showed that this mushroom was good source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous and iron. Cellular damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been implicated in several diseases and hence antioxidants have significant importance in human health. The cold water, hot water and ethanolic extract of Ramaria aurea were analyzed for their antioxidant activities in different systems namely inhibition of lipid peroxidation, DPPH free radical and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities. The antioxidant activities among the three different extracts, ethanolic extract showed the strongest antioxidant activities in all the test systems. Furthermore, crude, boiled and ethanolic extracts also increased significantly nitric oxide production (319.1, 383.4 and 605.8 pmol NO produced/mg dry wt/h respectively) over the control. The present results revealed that this mushroom might be utilized as a promising dietary supplement.