First successful domestication and determination of nutritional and antioxidant properties of the red ear mushroom Auricularia thailandica (Auriculariales, Basidiomycota)

In order to fulfill the increasing demand for edible mushrooms and maintain a steady supply throughout the year, it is necessary to domesticate new wild edible mushroom species. In this study, we domesticated Auricularia thailandica, a newly identified edible species that was collected from the wild in Thailand. We compared the growth of A. thailandica in three different growth media: sawdust, wheat husk and sugarcane bagasse. The use of sawdust resulted in the fastest rate of mycelial colonisation at 56.4 ± 1.2 days, pinheads were formed in 14.2 ± 0.4 days and the biological efficiency was 17.1 ± 2.8%. Nutritional analysis showed that A. thailandica contained a higher proportion of protein (12.99 ± 0.05%) and fat (2.93 ± 0.66%) by dry weight than other commercial Auricularia spp. available on the market. The antioxidant potential of A. thailandica varied with the extraction solvent used, and the effective concentration was found to be significantly lower in methanol extract than aqueous extract. Additionally, this species has an attractive reddish orange colour and larger basidiocarps than other commercially available species.