Bioprospecting of wood-based saprophytic edible mushrooms from selected natural forests and planted trees, Tanzania

The mushroom cultivation industry in Tanzania is dominated by exotic mushrooms which sometimes do not perform well in the physical environment. This study aimed at isolating, characterizing and domesticating more indigenous edible mushrooms and establishing their nutritional and antioxidant potentials. Ten wild edible mushrooms, the wood-based saprophytes, collected from selected natural forests and planted trees were characterized by morphological and genetic markers. Genetic markers used were LSU and ITS (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) regions of rDNA and were employed in DNA barcoding approach for mushroom species’ identification and molecular phylogenetics for depicting mushrooms’ evolutionary history. Morphological markers grouped mushrooms into distinct groups which were later on ascertained using genetic markers. ITS marker displayed the premier resolving power in mushroom discrimination among species and within species. Among seven wild mushrooms subjected to domestication trials only two species were successfully domesticated; Amylosporussp.and Polyporales sp.Most of mushrooms analysed in this study were nutritious with amazing antioxidant potentials in free radical scavenging activity and ferrous ion chelating capability at a very low extract concentrations which varied among species and within the species for the wild and cultivated forms. This implies that these mushrooms are highly effective in neutralizing free radicals and stabilizing transition metals in living systems consequently hampering cell/tissue damages that could lead to degenerative diseases. Due to their nutritional benefits and antioxidant potentials people are recommended to cultivate mushrooms and maximally exploit them.