Researchers from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) have developed solutions to value mushroom production waste through the Fungi4Health project, applying them to animal feed and the cosmetic industry, it was announced today.
The use of leftover mushrooms in animal diets or in moisturizing and anti-aging creams, in addition to the traditional use of the substrate used as an agricultural fertilizer, were “innovative solutions” released today and developed by a team from the Center for Research and Agro-environmental and Biological Technologies (CITAB) from UTAD.
According to a statement from the Trás-os-Montes Academy, “the high volume of waste is considered one of the biggest problems in the mushroom production chain”. UTAD added that, for each kilogram of mushrooms, on average, two kilograms of waste are produced that need treatment in order to be subsequently valued.
Within the scope of the Fungi4Health project, it was noticed that the “increment can be done through its application in animal diets or in the cosmetic industry, thanks to the nutritional value and cosmeceutical potential (cosmetics with therapeutic value) of these residues”.
“The residues and by-products from the production of shiitake (a kind of mushroom), for example, were used in diets for the production of rabbits and fish (tilapia) and had excellent results. of fish favored growth patterns when compared to a commercial diet”, said researcher Guilhermina Marques, coordinator of Fungi4Health, quoted in the statement.
This “waste” consists of mushrooms with no commercial value, because they are deformed or because the optimum harvest time has been exceeded, and by substrates at the end of the production cycle.
The Fungi4Health project also evaluated “the cosmeceutical potential of extracts from several species of edible, cultivated and wild mushrooms, and it was verified that some species stood out for their antioxidant, anti-aging properties and also some antibacterial activity”.
“We have developed a line of natural cosmetic products, in which mushroom extracts have been incorporated, namely facial creams with moisturizing and anti-aging properties, solid soaps and a revitalizing liquid shampoo for all types of hair”, said the researcher.
The researchers believe that these results can “contribute to increasing the sustainability of companies in the sector, as they allow finding solutions to the environmental problem of deposition and treatment of waste and by-products”.
The study was carried out within the framework of the Fungi4Health project, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through NORTE 2020.
Promoted by UTAD and the company Chikioshira SAG, Lda. (Floresta Viva), the project also had the collaboration of other production companies, such as Aparência Primaveril and Mogaricus Cogumelos.
CITAB is currently made up of 313 researchers and scholarship holders and currently has 62 ongoing national and international projects.
