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Sustainable Extraction and Multimodal Characterization of Fungal Chitosan from Agaricus bisporus

Summary

Researchers successfully extracted chitosan from button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) using environmentally friendly chemical processes. This fungal-derived chitosan offers a sustainable alternative to traditional sources from shellfish and avoids issues like allergies and harsh chemical pollution. The extracted material showed promising properties for medical applications including wound healing and drug delivery systems.

Background

Chitosan is a valuable biopolymer traditionally extracted from crustacean exoskeletons using harsh chemicals with environmental and health concerns. Fungal-derived chitosan offers a sustainable alternative with lower allergenic potential and renewable sourcing. Agaricus bisporus represents a promising source due to its widespread cultivation and high chitin content.

Objective

To extract chitosan from Agaricus bisporus mushroom biomass through demineralization, deproteinization, and deacetylation processes. To comprehensively characterize the extracted fungal chitosan using advanced analytical techniques and compare it with commercial chitosan in terms of structural and physicochemical properties.

Results

Fungal chitosan extraction yielded 14.6% overall yield with 61.57% degree of deacetylation. XRD analysis showed lower crystallinity compared to commercial chitosan. SEM revealed porous and fibrous morphology advantageous for applications requiring flexibility. Zeta potential of -27.76 mV indicated good colloidal stability. Commercial chitosan exhibited higher lightness (L* = 86.90) compared to fungal chitosan (L* = 71.97).

Conclusion

Chitosan was successfully extracted from Agaricus bisporus through sustainable processes, demonstrating structural conversion comparable to commercial chitosan. The fungal-derived chitosan exhibits promising physicochemical properties suitable for biodegradable films and functional materials. These findings establish fungal biomass as a viable sustainable source for high-quality chitosan production.
  • Published in:Foods,
  • Study Type:Experimental Study,
  • Source: PMID: 40870699, DOI: 10.3390/foods14162785
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