Analysis of phytosterols in two species of morel mushrooms: Morchella tomentosa and Morchella americana
Presenter(s)
Thomas Nalli
Abstract
Morel mushrooms (Morchella) are found worldwide and greatly prized for their deliciousness. Like all mushrooms, morels contain phytosterols including ergosterol, the principal sterol used for fungal cell membranes. These phytosterols have several nutritional benefits including lowering of serum cholesterol levels, providing dietary vitamin D, and acting as antioxidants. Morels, in particular, have attracted attention as potential high-value functional food sources.
Our research determining the detailed phytosterol content of commercially procured dehydrated morel mushrooms led us to examine two North American species, Morchella tomentosa and Morchella americana. as respective examples of forest-fire associated species, aka "burns", and non-burns.
We used gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze five samples of each species, which were extracted with petroleum ether, saponified, and treated with trimethylsilylimidazole prior to the GC-MS analysis. The respective relative concentrations of the well-known morel sterols, ergosterol 1 (27.5% vs 18.8%), brassicasterol 2 (46.5% vs 59.5%), campesterol 3 (4.4 vs 7.7%), and dihydroergosterol 4 (6.6% vs 0.9%) all showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences. More strikingly, the two species contain widely disparate proportions of the rarer sterols, 24-methylenecholesterol 5 (2.7% vs 10.0%, p = 0.029) and ergosta-5,22,24(28)-trienol 6 (9.2% vs 0.3%, p = 0.00011). Sterol 6 is an extremely rare compound that has only been reported in mushrooms (truffles) once in previous literature and might be useful as a phenotypic marker for M. tomentosa.
We thank the Spring 2024 Organic Chemistry II class at Winona State University for carrying out these analyses as part of their CURE laboratory experience.
College
College of Science & Engineering
Department
Chemistry
Campus
Winona
First Advisor/Mentor
Thomas Nalli
Location
Oak Rooms E/F, Kryzsko Commons, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota
Start Date
4-24-2025 11:40 AM
End Date
4-24-2025 11:59 AM
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Format of Presentation or Performance
In-Person
Analysis of phytosterols in two species of morel mushrooms: Morchella tomentosa and Morchella americana
Oak Rooms E/F, Kryzsko Commons, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota
Morel mushrooms (Morchella) are found worldwide and greatly prized for their deliciousness. Like all mushrooms, morels contain phytosterols including ergosterol, the principal sterol used for fungal cell membranes. These phytosterols have several nutritional benefits including lowering of serum cholesterol levels, providing dietary vitamin D, and acting as antioxidants. Morels, in particular, have attracted attention as potential high-value functional food sources.
Our research determining the detailed phytosterol content of commercially procured dehydrated morel mushrooms led us to examine two North American species, Morchella tomentosa and Morchella americana. as respective examples of forest-fire associated species, aka "burns", and non-burns.
We used gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze five samples of each species, which were extracted with petroleum ether, saponified, and treated with trimethylsilylimidazole prior to the GC-MS analysis. The respective relative concentrations of the well-known morel sterols, ergosterol 1 (27.5% vs 18.8%), brassicasterol 2 (46.5% vs 59.5%), campesterol 3 (4.4 vs 7.7%), and dihydroergosterol 4 (6.6% vs 0.9%) all showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences. More strikingly, the two species contain widely disparate proportions of the rarer sterols, 24-methylenecholesterol 5 (2.7% vs 10.0%, p = 0.029) and ergosta-5,22,24(28)-trienol 6 (9.2% vs 0.3%, p = 0.00011). Sterol 6 is an extremely rare compound that has only been reported in mushrooms (truffles) once in previous literature and might be useful as a phenotypic marker for M. tomentosa.
We thank the Spring 2024 Organic Chemistry II class at Winona State University for carrying out these analyses as part of their CURE laboratory experience.
