Respiratory parameters and sugar catabolism of mushroom (Agaricus bisporus Lange)

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Abstract

The respiration rate (RR) of mushroom (Agaricus bisporus Lange, strain X25) under air follows Arrhenius’ law with an apparent activation energy of 43 400 J mol−1 corresponding to a Q10 of 2.9 between 10 and 20°C. Oxygen from 20 to 1 kPa did not affect RR at temperatures ranging from 5 to 20°C, confirming previous studies. The initial RR of mushroom (same cultivar, flush, growing conditions) measured 24 h after harvesting can vary from 1 to 2 mmol O2 kg−1 h−1 at 10°C. The apparent Km value was below 0.1 kPa at 10°C, and could not be estimated more accurately due to instrumental limitations. Decrease in dry matter of modified atmosphere-packed mushrooms matched the theoretical carbon consumption calculated from the constant respiration rate. Glucose and glycogen were rapidly catabolized, whereas mannitol consumption began 3 and 8 days after harvest at 20 and 10°C, respectively. It was concluded that no extension of mushroom shelf life was attainable through modified atmosphere packaging. Controlling RH within the package is likely to be more effective.

Introduction

Numerous authors have developed mathematical models of gas exchange in modified atmosphere packages (MAP) containing fresh commodities. Most of these models are based on Michaelis’ equation for respiration and Fick’s law for gas diffusion through the film (Kok and Raghavan, 1985, Wade and Graham, 1987, Kader et al., 1989, Edmond et al., 1991, Cameron et al., 1994, Talasila et al., 1994, Fishman et al., 1995, Peppelenbos et al., 1996). To run these models it is necessary to input the physiological parameters of the plant tissues and their variation with temperature, including Vm, apparent Km which is the O2 partial pressure resulting in half the maximum velocity of the respiration, and, in some cases, an inhibitory coefficient for CO2. For most commodities, including the common mushroom, these data are not available in the literature.

Mannitol is the main soluble carbohydrate in Agaricus bisporus and may account for up to 60% of the dry matter in the pileus and the lower part of the stipe (Hammond, 1979). Half of the total mannitol may be catabolized within 4 days of storage at 18°C (Hammond and Nichols, 1975, Hammond and Nichols, 1976). Lopez Briones et al. (1992) noted a lower mannitol consumption rate in mushrooms stored at 10°C under low O2–high CO2 controlled atmospheres than in those stored under air. These authors did not find any relationship between gas concentrations and mannitol depletion except for samples stored under hypoxia (below 1 kPa), proving that only very low O2 partial pressures could reduce the rate of mushroom catabolism. Carbohydrate consumption of mushroom is well correlated with maturity and storage temperature (Hammond and Nichols, 1976). Migration of dry matter from the stipe and cap towards gill tissue has been previously described by Braaksma et al. (1994), and mannitol is probably used as a respiratory substrate mainly in the gill tissue, even in the absence of apparent postharvest development at 10°C (Donker and Braaksma, 1997).

The objectives of this research were to assess respiration parameters in order to model MAP of mushroom. We needed to determine whether O2 reduction and CO2 elevation could reduce mushroom respiration rate, and therefore extend its shelf life.

Section snippets

Plant material

Cultivated mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus, strain X25) grown on a commercial farm in the Avignon region were selected from the second flush and from the same area of the cave and picked at stage 2 according to the scale developed by Burton et al. (1987). This stage is commercially referred to as the button stage. Immediately after picking, the mushrooms were precooled at 1°C, transported at the same temperature to the laboratory and stored for a few hours at 1°C for the mushrooms to recover from

Variability of mushroom respiration rate

Mushrooms were grown under similar conditions but their respiration rates, assessed 24 h after harvest in air at 10°C, ranged from 1 to 2.25 mmol kg−1 h−1. The mean RRO2 of 25 mushroom samples from five different batches at 10°C was 1.6 mmol kg−1 h−1, with a standard deviation of 0.5. An 80% coefficient of variation in O2 respiration rate of batches of mushrooms has been previously reported by Beit-Halachmy and Mannheim (1992). The large between-batch differences in respiration rates of the

Conclusion

Mushroom catabolism is not dependent on O2 and CO2 partial pressures from 0.1 to 20 kPa and from 0 to 20 kPa, respectively. Therefore, MA packaging will not reduce either respiration rate or metabolite consumption in mushrooms. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that CO2, at partial pressures from 5 to 20 kPa, prevented the opening of the cap but induced both internal and external yellowing of the carpophores (Lopez Briones, 1991). That is why MA-packed whole mushrooms are not available on the

Acknowledgements

This research was partly supported by European AIR projects number PL920953 and PL921326.

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