Effect of Horse Gram on the cultivation of Pleurotus florida Mushroom and their Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Activity

Abstract

Pleurotus florida mushroom was cultivated by using Macrotyloma uniflorum (horse gram) as a nutrient supplement adopting the “layer spawning” method and the effect of straw size reduction on mushroom yield were studied. The fruit bodies of mushroom were harvested fresh, dried, powdered and extracted using soxhlet apparatus. The crude extracts were characterized phytochemically and subjected to antibacterial activity by cup plate agar diffusion method against human pathogens. The ground straw and horse gram supplemented batch increased 23% of mushroom yield than control. Aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extracts showed positive results on preliminary phytochemical analysis and also strongly inhibited the growth of the Gram-positive and Gram negative bacterium whereas ethyl acetate and hexane extracts have low reaction in phytochemical analysis and low antimicrobial activity. Bioactive compounds from Pleurotus florida mushroom extracts could be used as an alternate to antibiotics, considering the side effects and escalating levels of antibiotic resistance among microorganisms. Mushroom cultivation with horse gram supplementation and straw reduction method was found to have increased mushroom yield and high phytochemical constituents.