Different approaches for Hericium erinaceus spawn in the perspective of gluten free products

Background - Gluten-related disorders have becoming a problem for many people which can suffer of Celiac Disease (CD), Wheat Allergy (WA) or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS). The last one is still an undefined syndrome with several unsettled issues despite the increasing awareness of its existence. These patients have to avoid to consume wheat, barley and rye grains. Dietary supplements based on medicinal mushrooms are commonly prepared also using grain spawn, mainly with wheat or rye grain. Hericium erinaceus (Bull.) Pers. in Asia has a long history of use to treat various human diseases. It has been adduced for a variety of physiological effects, including anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-gastritis, anti-inflammatory and anti-metabolic disease properties. Nowadays the main interest regards its role as adaptogen for brain and nerves. Hence, it is an attractive target resource for developing functional foods or dietary supplements. As it could be used also from people with gluten-related disorders, it is becoming of great importance to have gluten free products too. Aim - We attempt to test the efficacy of H. erinaceus growth on spawn prepared with gluten free grains. Methods – The H. erinaceus strain (1.2.H.e.1) used belongs to the Culture Collection of Pavia University. It was maintained on a Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) slant at 4° C. The spawn bags were prepared according to the most common procedures and the following grains were tested: wheat (gluten +); brown rice and maize (gluten-free); buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum, fam. Polygonaceae, gluten-free). After that, the best performing spawns were used as inoculum for the cultivation of H. erinaceus basidiomata. The biological efficiency (BE%) was calculated too. Results – The growth of H. erinaceus was obtained in all the different spawn bags, however a faster result was highlighted with maize and wheat grains. Therefore, these two spawns were selected to cultivate H. erinaceus; between them, the best production of basidiomata resulted with maize spawn. Conclusions - H. erinaceus dietary supplements prepared using maize grain spawn can be an effective alternative, useful to let a wider consumption of this medicinal mushroom.