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- Title
Medicinal Mushrooms (Genus: Lenzites) of Western Ghats: A Future Source for Chitin?
- Authors
Nair, Ambarish C.; Kondevooru, Prajna S.
- Abstract
The medicinal mushrooms belong to the genus Lenzites are widely distributed in Western Ghats. In the current study, the fungal biopolymer chitin was isolated and characterised from Lenzites spp. It was found that 18 % of chitin from Lenzites betulina and 21% from Lenzites elegans with respect to the dry weight of fungal sample. Fungal chitin was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis by SEM-EDX, absorbance by Fourier Transformation Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). Chitin surface feature analysis were carried out by using scanning electron microscopic (SEM). The low percentage of nitrogen and ash from crude mushroom samples to chitin indicates the efficiency of procedure employed for extraction. The characteristics of isolated chitin corroborates with results of commercial chitin from shrimp and other mushroom chitins. The medicinal mushroom of genus Lenzites can be considered as potential alternative source for the production of chitosan and its applications in future biomedical field.
- Publication
Trends in Biomaterials & Artificial Organs, 2016, Vol 30, Issue 1, p13
- ISSN
0971-1198
- Publication type
Academic Journal