Agaricus blazei Murill (ABM), a medicinal mushroom, has beneficial effects on various human metabolic diseases. The objective of this research was to evaluate the antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of ABM extracts (ethanol extract and ethyl acetate extract). The antioxidant activities of ABM ethanol extract (EE) and ethyl acetate extract (EA) were analyzed using 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays and the reducing power using K₃Fe(CN)₆ in vitro. Moreover, the effects of EE and EA on α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity and improving glucose uptake by HepG2 cells were investigated in vitro. The EA showed stronger antioxidant activity, as well as inhibition of α‐glucosidase, compared to EE. The analysis of glucose uptake by HepG2 cells showed that EA had significant glucose‐lowering activity and exhibited no difference compared to metformin. The results suggest that ABM extracts could improve the glucose uptake by HepG2 cells and thereby alleviate postprandial hyperglycemia. This investigation provides a strong rationale for further studies on the application of ABM to control type 2 diabetes.

• Lyophyllum decastes is a mushroom prone to browning upon prolonged storage. • Ultrasonication (US) treatment retarded browning through enzyme inhibition. • US treatment maintained a higher energy charge and decreased NADH/NAD⁺. • US treatment reduced LdPpo1, LdPpo2, and LdPpo3 genes expression level. • US treatment may be a common strategy for prolonging mushroom shelf life.

ε-poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) holds a strong antibacterial property and is widely used for food preservation. However, the application of ε-PL to enhance fruit disease resistance in postharvest longans (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) has not been explored. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of ε-PL treatment on disease occurrence and energy metabolism of longans infected with Phomopsis longanae Chi (P. longanae). It was found that, in comparison with P. longanae-inoculated longans, ε-PL could decrease the fruit disease index and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) content, increase the amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and energy charge, and enhance the activities of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) (such as H⁺-, Mg²⁺-, and Ca²⁺-ATPase) in the mitochondria, protoplasm, and vacuole. The results suggest that the higher levels of ATPase activity and energy status played essential roles in disease resistance of postharvest longan fruit. Therefore, the ε-PL treatment can be used as a safe and efficient postharvest method to inhibit the disease occurrence of longan fruit during storage at room temperature.

Flammulina velutipes, one of the most popular mushroom species in the world, has been recognized as a useful model system to study the biochemical and physiological aspects of the formation and elongation of fruit body. However, few reports have been published on the regulation of fruiting body formation in F. velutipes at the molecular level. In this study, a jacalin-related lectin gene from F. velutipes was characterized. The phylogenetic tree revealed that Fv-JRL1 clustered with other basidiomycete jacalin-like lectins. Moreover, the transcriptional pattern of the Fv-JRL1 gene in different developmental stages of F. velutipes implied that Fv-JRL1 could be important for formation of fruit body. Additionally, RNA interference (RNAi) and overexpression analyses provided powerful evidence that the lectin gene Fv-JRL1 from F. velutipes plays important roles in fruiting body formation.

The effects of paper containing different concentrations of 1‐methylcyclopropene (1‐MCP) on the quality of Chinese mushrooms were investigated. Mushrooms were first stored with paper containing 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, or 1.25 μl L⁻¹ 1‐MCP at 15 ± 1°C for 12 hr and then continued for up to 8 days. 1‐MCP reduced the respiratory peak, weight loss, degree of cap browning, relative leakage rate, and soluble solid content, and delayed the change in the surface hue angle. Mushrooms exposed to paper containing 1‐MCP maintained firmness and sensory attributes. The storage time of Chinese mushrooms treated with 1‐MCP at the best concentration (0.75 μl L⁻¹) was 8 days, which was 4 days longer than that of the control. Browning in mushrooms was related to the vitamin C content, total phenol content, and polyphenol oxidase activity. The results would be very useful to the mushroom industry and provide a theoretical basis for the potential researches of the mechanisms maturation and senescence in Chinese mushrooms.