Because of its high nutritional value and pharmaceutical effects, oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm.) is collected from nature and cultivated in large scale. This therapeutic mushroom is consumed as a functional food or food additive in soups, cereal and dairy products, and commercially used in nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. The mycochemicals including polysaccharides (crude fiber and β-glucans), essential amino acids, ergothioneine, peptides, (glyco)proteins, lectins, phenolic compounds, polyketides (lovastatin), (tri)terpenoids, and enzymes are naturally found in the fruiting bodies and mycelial biomass of P. ostreatus. The major bioactive compounds concentration of this mushroom may be increased by modification of the substrate composition and cultivation or postharvest conditions. The goal of this review is to evaluate the results of the studies about the biochemical composition and medicinal properties of edible wild and cultivated P. ostreatus. Furthermore, the advanced novel cultivation techniques, biotechnological processes, and postharvest treatments were given in order to increase its nutritional and nutraceutical values.

Using of edible mushrooms which are generally consumed in houses in dried form is based on mainly instant soup and sauce formulations. Recently, the cultivations of Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus ostreatus species have become widespread. Utilization of these cultivated mushrooms in recipes would bring added value to related food products. For this purpose, Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus ostreatus species farmed in Osmaniye Korkut Ata University Mushroom House were dried and then pulverized. Firstly, a snack was prepared with Agaricus bisporus powder. Agaricus bisporus powder was substituted for wheat flour at the rates of 5 %, 10 %, 20 % and 30 % and thus the potential of food product which had relatively lower carbohydrate and fat level and higher fiber content was investigated. In the second part of the study, either 5 %, 10 % of Agaricus bisporus powder or 5 %, 10 % of Pleurotus ostreatus powder were added into traditional Turkish meatball (beef mince, salt) which was cooked in conventional oven, so meat flavor could be replaced by herbal flavor coming from mushroom. This property mat obey the purpose that, the created new product will be consumed fondly especially by children. Sensory and physical (colour and texture) analysis were performed in both snack and meatball samples and the results were evaluated statistically.

In this study, the effects of some herbal wastes such as daphne (Laurus nobilis), thyme (Origanum onites) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum) on the yield of Pleurotus ostreatus were investigated. While compost formula consisted 43% wheat straw+ 43% poplar dust+ 10% wheat bran+ 4% gyps mixture was used as the control group, 20% to 40% of herbal waste was added to this formula in the experiment groups. Total number of mushroom was counted in both the experiment and the control groups. Then, the harvested mushrooms were weighed and morphological features of caps were measured and recorded. As a result of obtained data, while it was detected that compost contained 20% cumin waste had the highest number of primordium (34), the control group had the lowest number of primordium (21 items). The highest biological yield was detected as 35.8% in the group contained 20% cumin waste. The lowest biological yield was detected in the control group with 24.6%.