Record of medicinal Jew’s (Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) Quél) ear mushroom growing in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana and its possible health values

  • G. T. Odamtten Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon
  • J. Addo Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon
  • M. Wiafe-Kwagyan Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon
Keywords: Jews ear mushroom;, <i>Auricularia auricula-judae</i>, <i>Euphorbia turicalli</i> L.;, basidium;, basidiospores;, medicinal values

Abstract

Medicinal mushrooms are part of total health delivery system of a nation. A mushroom of recognised health benefits was seen for the first time on a pencil cactus (Euphorbia turicalli L.) in the Greater Accra Region (Adentan Municipal Assembly) in September- October 2021. The fruiting body was gelatinous with the shape of a human ear. The basidiomata were either solitary, densely rosette with caestipose habit either astipitate or with vestigial stipe. The general morphological features were akin to that of Auricularia auricula-judae. Anatomical and morphometric studies showed that the fruiting body had smooth hymenium with a layer of basidia which were cylindrical or club-shaped. The dimensions of the basidia (70.86±4.27 μm long; 9.54± 0.60 μm wide) closely agreed with the range reported for A. auricula-judae. The white/greyish basidiospores were generally sausage-shaped (allantoid) ranging in length (18.47±0.73μm) and width (7.49±0.3μm) closely to reported range. The economical and medicinal values of the mushroom are described and future commercial exploitation through biotechnological technique highlighted.

Published
2022-01-01
Section
Original Scientific Research

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 0855-1448
print ISSN: 0016-9544