Development of health materials based on useful components of Sparassis crispa Fr.

Development of health materials based on useful components of Sparassis crispa Fr.

Kyung-Je Kim1, Seong-Woo Jin1, Young-Woo Koh1, Seung-bin Im1, Sang-Wook Jeong 1, Neul-I Ha1, Hee-gyeong Jeong1, Dong-Hyeon Lee1, Dong-Uk Kim1, Kyeong-Won Yun2, Yu-Jin Choi3, Kyoung-Sun Seo1*

¹Jangheung Research Institute for Mushroom Industry

2Department of Oriental Medicine Resources, Sunchon National University

3Imsil Cheese & Food Research Institute

Sparassis crispa Fr., which belongs to the cauliflower family of the order Achyranthesia, is white or brown in a wavy shape and grows wild in clusters near the roots or stumps of living trees between summer and autumn. S. crispa has a high β-glucan content and is known to be effective in antioxidants, high blood pressure, and allergy relief. To develop antioxidant products using the functional substances of S. crispa, the contents of crude protein, amino acids, inorganic components, ergothioneine, and β-glucan in S. crispa were analyzed.

The crude protein content of S. crispa was 4.93%, and the total amino acid content was 2,586.52 mg%, of which essential amino acids were 1,214.55 mg%. Among amino acids, the content of leucine, an essential amino acid, was the highest. Leucine is the only amino acid that produces energy and is known to maintain blood sugar levels. The highest content of inorganic components in S. crispa was potassium (K) at 2,283.56 mg%, followed by magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and calcium (Ca). The ergothioneine content of S. crispa was found to be 17.91 mg%, and the β-glucan content was found to be high at 45.43%. S. crispa have a high β-glucan content and appear to have effects such as improving memory and delaying aging, so they are expected to have great use as a food to maintain the health of the elderly.