We aim to develop a mushroom growing technology that will multiply vitamin D levels in grown mushrooms. These mushrooms and the resulting finished and semi finished products are unique and could be vital in terms of health promotion in the food market. The focus of the project will be on developing mushroom products with a high level of biologically active vitamin D. According to
previous research, under ultraviolet light with a defined wavelength and energy, a number of grown mushrooms are capable of synthesizing 3-5 times higher levels of vitamin D2 from the high level of ergosterol present in fungal cell membranes.
We aim to:
- Define which grown mushroom species contain the highest level of vitamin D2.
- Examine the wavelength (UV-A, UV-B, UV-C) and the needed duration of ultraviolet radiation that will result in the highest level of vitamin D, and at the same time will not harmfully affect the quality and storage life of the product. Under the modified growing
conditions, we determine the required dose (J/cm2) and intensity (mW/cm2) of ultraviolet light to reach the highest possible vitamin D concentration.
- Determine the most effective distance and irradiation method of the UV treatment.
- Develop a device that would execute the task of irradiation automatically, without the need to endanger the operator staff.
- Examine the effect of UV radiation on the harmful activities of pathogen microorganisms, in order to improve chemical-free mushroom growing technologies.
- Conduct experiments on the assessment of the postharvest application of irradiation.
- Conduct analytical research in the postharvest period to determine the modification of vitamin D concentration during storage and refrigeration. We examine if any harmful products are generated by the treatment or if it affects the mushroom’s gastronomic and dietetic value (e.g. the structure of proteins, amino acid compounds etc.)
We propose the following business utilization of the project results:
- Acquire patent rights to the project results.
- We launch the production of champignons enriched with vitamin D in our domicile in Ócsa.
- We develop a branded product family (both fresh-market and processed) of the mushrooms.
We are confident to say that the spread of health-conscious diet creates a steady market for our product not only in welfare societies but in Hungary, too. We suggest the long-term maintenance and annual expansion of production since more and more people become vegetarian or dare to stay in sunlight. This will lead to severe vitamin D deficiency and these consumers will have to supplement vitamin D. Health-conscious consumers will prefer food as natural vitamin D source to synthetic pills. The gastronomic and biological values of these products will help to cut back cancer morbidity in the society. Recent clinical studies showed that the likelihood of the appearance of the most common cancer types in Hungary is multiplied by vitamin D deficiency, while the same decreases survival chances by patients. Cedric F. Garland, the professor of the University of California, proved that vitamin D efficiency has a role in the development breast cancer, colonic cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.
As far as we know there are no growing experiments in Hungary or in other countries of the Union. However, one can frequently find publications of Norwegian researchers on the subject. Experiments are made in the USA, where the research team of the renowned PennState University issues the results of their laboratory experiments.
Our enterprise could be competitive on the mushroom market following the end of the project. Sooner or later the great mushroom grower countries will have their own technology and start to produce mushrooms enriched with vitamin D. A successful R&D project could support the mushroom sector in becoming a market leader in the CEE region.
