Iron is one of the essential elements for a proper plant development. Providing plants with an accessible form of iron is crucial when it is scant or unavailable in soils. Chemical chelates are the only current alternative and are highly stable in soils, therefore, posing a threat to drinking water. The aim of this investigation was to quantify siderophores produced by two bacterial strains and to determine if these bacterial siderophores would palliate chlorotic symptoms of iron-starved tomato plants. For this purpose, siderophore production in MM9 medium by two selected bacterial strains was quantified, and the best was used for biological assay. Bacterial culture media free of bacteria (S) and with bacterial cells (BS), both supplemented with Fe were delivered to 12-week-old plants grown under iron starvation in hydroponic conditions; controls with full Hoagland solution, iron-free Hoagland solution and water were also conducted. Treatments were applied twice along the experiment, with a week in between. At harvest, plant yield, chlorophyll content and nutritional status in leaves were measured. Both the bacterial siderophore treatments significantly increased plant yield, chlorophyll and iron content over the positive controls with full Hoagland solution, indicating that siderophores are effective in providing Fe to the plant, either with or without the presence of bacteria. In summary, siderophores from strain Chryseobacterium C138 are effective in supplying Fe to iron-starved tomato plants by the roots, either with or without the presence of bacteria. Based on the amount of siderophores produced, an effective and economically feasible organic Fe chelator could be developed.

Pickling is one of the methods for preserving food. However, this term may refer to both types of products, that is, to those subjected to lactic acid fermentation and to marinated ones (acidified) that are usually produced by the addition of acetic acid. Various raw materials are subjected to lactic acid fermentation (vegetable and animal origin), which yields food products with high nutritional and dietary value. In many regions of the world, the process of lactic fermentation is also traditionally used to preserve fruiting bodies of edible mushrooms. Mushrooms are appreciated for their organoleptic qualities as well as the presence of many different bioactive substances exhibiting healing and health‐promoting properties. This article reviews the literature related to the use of lactic fermentation in the process of mushroom preservation. Particular attention has been paid to the aspects of the technological process and its impact on the quality and suitability of the final products. Moreover, research results concerning the influence of lactic fermentation on chemical and physical changes in fruiting bodies of edible fungi are also presented.

Supplementation of food products with mushroom powder increases their health-promoting value, but at the same time affects technological quality, which often play a key role for consumers. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of adding freeze-dried white and brown button mushrooms (2.5% and 5%) to wheat bread on its health-promoting properties such as antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP), total polyphenols and vitamin D₂ content and as well as the technological quality as colour and texture. The breads were supplemented with mushroom lyophilisates, which were exposed to UVB radiation in order to increase their vitamin D₂ content. The content of total polyphenols and antioxidant properties were determined spectrophotometrically, and the content of vitamin D₂ by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole spectrometer (UHPLC/MS/MS analysis). Colour parameters were determined in the CIE-Lab system and texture profile analysis (TPA) and sensory evaluation of the baked products were performed. The addition of dried mushrooms significantly increased the content of bioactive compounds (total polyphenols, vitamin D₂) and the antioxidant properties of bread. A small addition of mushrooms caused a significant change in the basic technological quality of breads (colour parameters, specific volume, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness). At the same time, supplementation with mushroom lyophilisates has a positive effect on most analysed attributes in the nine-point hedonic scale. Based on the conducted research, it can be concluded that mushroom lyophilisates can be a valuable raw material for the fortification of bread, which is a good matrix and carrier of substances with documented biological activities.

Water soluble polysaccharides (WSP) were isolated from Lentinus edodes fruiting bodies. The mushrooms were previously subjected to various processing techniques which included blanching, boiling, and fermenting with lactic acid bacteria. Therefore, the impact of processing on the content and biological activities of WSP was established. Non-processed fruiting bodies contained 10.70 ± 0.09 mg/g fw. Boiling caused ~12% decrease in the amount of WSP, while blanched and fermented mushrooms showed ~6% decline. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR) confirmed the presence of β-glycosidic links, whereas due to size exclusion chromatography 216 kDa and 11 kDa molecules were detected. WSP exhibited antioxidant potential in FRAP (ferric ion reducing antioxidant power) and ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) assays. Cytotoxic properties were determined on MCF-7 and T47D human breast cell lines using MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test. Both biological activities decreased as the result of boiling and fermenting.

This study evaluates a new formula for high-protein fat-free dairy desserts. The rheological, textural, organoleptic and antioxidative properties of this product have been examined. They were prepared in laboratory conditions using a magnetic stirrer and then mixed in a water bath at 80 °C for 10 min. The composition included skimmed-milk powder, different concentrations of whey proteins (WPC80) (5, 7, 9, 11 or 13%), sucrose and ĸ-carrageenan. Samples were stored at 4 °C. The use of different amounts of whey proteins significantly influenced the texture, rheological properties and appearance of dairy desserts. With the increase of WPC80 content, the hardness (5–11%), adhesiveness (5–13%), cohesiveness (513%), springiness (5–11%) and viscosity (5–13%) of the high-protein fat-free dairy desserts increased. Elastic (gel) properties were exhibited throughout the process (G’ > G”). This result was confirmed by the measurements of tan(δ) (tan(δ) < 1). Water activity decreased with an increase in WPC80 content. Health-promoting features using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) measurements were evaluated. Both methods showed that the samples have antioxidant properties. Panelists described desserts with 9% WPC80 as the most favorable according to sensory properties. This research promotes the reduction of production waste using high-protein whey powder, a by-product of whey from cheese manufacturing, as a main component during food production, and it also promotes fat-free food.

Freeze-dried stems and caps of six cultivated mushroom species, namely Agaricus bisporus (white) Agaricus bisporus (brown), Lentinula edodes, Pholiota nameko, Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus were subjected to ethanolic extraction. The obtained extracts were analyzed in terms of total phenolics content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant capacity, and the results were calculated per gram of mushroom dry weight and extract dry weight. The LC–MS technique was applied to determine the profiles of phenolic acids. The amount of total phenolics in the stems (per the fruiting bodies’ dry weight) ranged from 1.09 ± 0.09 mg/g (P. ostreatus) to 4.02 ± 0.20 mg/g (the white A. bisporus), whereas in the caps it ranged from 1.49 ± 0.07 mg/g (P. nameko) to 6.22 ± 0.21 mg/g (the brown A. bisporus). The total flavonoid content in the stems (per the fruiting bodies’ dry weight) varied from 0.46 ± 0.05 mg/g (P. ostreatus) to 1.72 ± 0.02 mg/g (the brown A. bisporus), and in the caps it ranged from 0.48 ± 0.01 mg/g (P. ostreatus) to 1.93 ± 0.05 mg/g (the white A. bisporus). The antioxidant potential measured with the FRAP assay showed that the caps displayed higher activity compared to the stems. However, in the case of the DPPH assay performed on A. bisporus, this relationship was inverted. Different species contained varied concentrations of phenolic acids. P. eryngii caps contained the highest amount of 3,4-DHBA, L. edodes caps were the richest source of caffeic acid, whereas the highest amount of syringic acid was observed in L. edodes stems. The caps of P. nameko contained the highest amounts of p-coumaric and t-cinnamic acid, as well as 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde.