Impact on Physicochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of the Wild Edible Mushroom Cyttaria espinosae Subjected to Drying.

The wild edible mushroom 'digüeñe' (Cyttaria espinosae) is a mushroom with interesting flavor and nutritional properties, but highly perishable with a consumption very limited, generating inevitable economic losses for their producers. Because of that, the aim of this study was the evaluation of two drying methods (hot-air drying and freeze-drying) in its bioactive and physicochemical composition for its preservation. The best performances of antioxidant capacity were 62 μmol TE g-1 (ORAC) and 14.21 μmol TE g-1 (DPPH), being higher compared with other vegetable sources. Its protein (5.33 %), fiber (5.58 %) and K (2.82 mg g-1 ) content also stands out. β-Carotene retention was 35.02 and 23.25 % after freeze drying and hot-air, respectively. Freeze-drying seems a good strategy for digüeñe, bioactive compounds, color and structure were better maintained. This work represents the first characterization of dehydrated digüeñe, constituting approaches for its valorization and use in the food industry.