Dissolution of Bioactive Components from Dried Fruiting Bodies of the Culinary-Medicinal Shiitake Mushroom, Lentinus edodes (Agaricomycetes), during Cleaning, Soaking, and Cooking

Lentinus edodes fruiting bodies are rich in active substances such as polysaccharides and eritadenine. Patients with gout, however, should avoid or severely limit their intake of foods containing large amounts of purine. In this study we quantitatively analyzed the polysaccharide and purine compounds dissolved from L. edodes fruiting bodies during cleaning, soaking, and cooking. Eritadenine, adenosine, guanosine, guanosine monophosphate, adenosine monophosphate, xanthine, and adenine dissolved from L. edodes fruiting bodies during cleaning with tap water; their dissolution rates ranged between 3.77% and 24.30%. Dissolution rates of polysaccharide and purine compounds in L. edodes fruiting bodies increased linearly with increases in the duration of soaking and cooking, and adding acetic acid or NaHCO3 in the soaking or cooking solutions significantly either inhibited or promoted their dissolution rates. On the basis of these experimental results, we offer science-based suggestions for reasonable treatment of L. edodes fruiting bodies before eating for both patients with gout and healthy people.