It was confirmed that complex fermentation (CF) was more efficient than single-strain fermentations in inducing changes in the contents of phenolic compounds of Maclura tricuspidate and Pyrus Montana Nakai. A mixture of Maclura tricuspidata, Pyrus montana Nakai, Platycodon grandiflorum and Codonopsis lanceolata were fermented in CF using Aspergillus shirousamii (koji), yeast, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for 24 days, and the pH, °Brix, total acidity, anti-oxidant activity, polyphenol content, nitric oxide (NO), and Western blotting of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) of the sample were determined. There was no significant change in pH and total acidity. °Brix significantly decreased from day 6 onwards. HPLC confirmed that the concentrations of chlorogenic acid, 4-hydrobenzoic acid, vanillic acid, and caffeic acid significantly increased from day 18 during the fermentation. Additionally, DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity, total phenol, and total flavonoid were confirmed to be increased until 18 days. NO was significantly inhibited from day 6, along with significant inhibition of iNOS, COX-2, and TNF-a. In conclusion, this study confirmed that CF of low-use (or underutilized) wild vegetables enhances phenolic compounds. It effectively suppresses NO, iNOS, COX-2, and TNF-α, markers of inflammation-related pathogenesis. Altogether, our results suggest that CF of the above plants has a potential anti-inflammatory effect.

Black ginseng (BG) is processed ginseng traditionally made in Korea via the steaming and drying of ginseng root through three or more cycles, leading to changes in its appearance due to the Maillard reaction on its surface, resulting in a dark coloration. In this study, we explored markers for differentiating processed ginseng by analyzing the chemical characteristics of BG. We elucidated a new method for the structural identification of ginsenoside metabolites and described the features of processed ginseng using UPLC-QTOF-MS in the positive ion mode. We confirmed that maltose, glucose, and fructose, along with L-arginine, L-histidine, and L-lysine, were the key compounds responsible for the changes in the external quality of BG. These compounds can serve as important metabolic markers for distinguishing BG from conventionally processed ginseng. The major characteristics of white ginseng, red ginseng, and BG can be distinguished based on their high-polarity and low-polarity ginsenosides, and a precise method for the structural elucidation of ginsenosides in the positive ion mode is presented.

Ginseng processing often involves multiple drying and heat treatments. Ginseng is typically processed within one week of harvesting or is stored at low temperatures to prevent spoilage. Black ginseng (BG) is manufactured by repeating the heat treatment and drying process of ginseng several times. We compared the suitability of low-temperature stored ginseng (SG) and harvested ginseng (HG) as the components for black ginseng production. SG and HG were processed into black ginseng and the appearance change, free sugar content, and benzo[a]pyrene (BAP) content were observed. Appearance observations showed the SG to be suitable in terms of quality when heat-treated at a temperature of 95 ℃ or higher. The BAP content of the SG increased significantly as the steaming process was repeated. A maximum BAP concentration of 5.31 ± 1.12 μg/kg was measured in SG steamed from 2 to 5 times, making it unsuitable for processing into BG. SG and HG showed similar trends in the content of sucrose, fructose, and glucose during steaming. This study aimed to facilitate the proper choice of base material to improve the safety of black ginseng by limiting BAP production during processing.

Eight carbon (C8) compounds are the key characteristic flavors of mushrooms. The quantitative analysis of the volatiles in mushrooms is challenging especially with the unattended HS-SPME-GC-MS. An unattended HSSPME-GC-MS/MS in combination with novel sample preparation of the complete control of volatile emissions was developed for the quantitation of the C8 volatiles in mushrooms. The sample preparation strategy was composed of freeze-drying, rehydration, and the addition of a 15% citric acid solution. With this strategy, the volatile emission from mushroom was fully controlled at a certain time point. This method was found to be highly reliable, sensitive, precise, and accurate. This method was successfully applied to measure the contents of the C8 volatiles in the beech, button, and shiitake mushrooms. 1-Octene-3-ol was the most predominant compound in the mushrooms, representing 62.4, 69.0, and 89.2% of the total C8 volatiles in the beech, button, and shiitake mushrooms, respectively.

The classification of six mushroom species (white beech, brown beech, button, oyster, king oyster, and enoki mushrooms) was successfully achieved using canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) on volatile metabolite data sets obtained by headspace-solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC). Twenty-seven major volatile compounds in six edible mushrooms were positively identified by HS-SPME-GC mass spectroscopy. The total volatile content was highest in brown beech mushroom (P < 0.05). Significant difference in volatile profile was observed between brown beach and white beech mushrooms. Button mushroom contained significantly higher contents of benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohol than the other mushrooms (P < 0.05). Oyster mushroom contained 1-octen-3-ol as the most prevalent volatile, representing 67% out of total volatiles. Hexanal (35.0%) and 1-octen-3-ol (22.5%) were the most abundant volatiles found in king oyster. Hexanal (29.1%) was the most prevalent volatile in enoki mushroom only. Several volatile pairs with very high positive correlation in their levels were identified, representing the highest correlation coefficient (r = 0.970) for the pair of t-2-octenal and 2,4-octandienal. CDA was much more efficient than principal component analysis for the differentiation of mushroom species. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The present study provided the important information on the volatile metabolite profiles of popular six commercial mushroom species. The present data will be useful for the quality control of mushrooms cultivated in farms and mushroom products processed in food industry. The strategy of canonical discriminant analysis in combination with HS-SPME-GC could be expanded for the determining the authentication of mushroom species.

The fatty acid composition of shiitake mushrooms cultivated at the mushroom farms under the identical condition was analyzed using a GC-FID. The lipids in mushrooms were extracted with a solvent mixture of methanol and chloroform. The lipids were saponified and methylesterified to make fatty acid methylesters (FAME). The FAME was isolated, identified and quantified using a GC-FID with a highly polar cyano-siloxane type capillary column. Linoleic acid was the most abundant fatty acid, representing about 74-81% of total fatty acids. Palmitic acid was the second most abundant fatty acid found in shitake mushrooms. The composition of fatty acid metabolite profiles were not greatly different with harvesting cycles. However, the contents of fatty acids in mushroom was greatly dependent on the harvesting cylcles. The fatty acid of contents in mushrooms obtained at the 1st harvesting cycle was much higher than those in mushrooms obtain at the 3rd harvesting cycle.