The effect of fermented buckwheat on producing L-carnitine enriched oyster mushroom

Abstract

L-carnitine is biological compound which serves intake of long chain fatty acids into mitochondria. In market, L-carnitine is considered as nutritious supplements for weight-loss. L-carnitine is synthesized in human organ, but most of L-carnitine which human intakes are originated from meat based foods. Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), the second popular edible mushroom in the world, is the main source of L-carnitine after meat and pork. Recently, there were many efforts to study designer foods of which functional ingredients were increased. However most of studies were focused on dairy products. In this study, the fermented buckwheat by Rhizopus oligosporus that contained high L-carnitine contents were used to cultivate oyster mushroom. L-carnitine contents in oyster mushroom were quantified by LC-ESI-MS. Mushroom grown on buckwheat medium had 3.17 to 23.88% higher L-carnitine concentration than normal medium. The mushroom size was increased when 20% (w/w) of buckwheat was added to basal medium. The lightness of mushroom pileus (L*) significantly increased among all the treatments. These results demonstrate that buckwheat and fermented buckwheat is novel substrates to produce L-carnitine enriched functional mushroom.