Purpose: To identify the chemical constituents of the n-hexane extract of the sclerotia of
Lentinus tuber-regium
(synonym
Pleurotus tuber-regium
) using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic (GCMS)
techniques.
Methods: The n-hexane extract of the sclerotia of
Lentinus tuber regium was obtained by exhaustive
Soxhlet extraction and analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic (MS) techniques. The
structures of the identified constituents were confirmed on the basis of their fragmentation pattern in
comparison with that obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference
library.
Results: Seven fatty acids derivatives: heptadecenal, n-hexadecanoic acid, 1-eicosene, linoleic acid,
oleic acid, linoleic acid ethyl ester, and octadecanoic acid, and five steroidal triterpenoids: cholesterol, α-
ergostenol, anthraergostatetraenol, stigmasterol, and alpha-ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one. The
major constituents characterised are α-ergosta-4,6,8(14), 22-tetraen-3-one (8.56 %) >
Anthraergostatetra-enol (7.19 %), > n-hexadecanoic acid (6.29 %) > linoleic acid (3.69 %).
Conclusion: This study shows that
L tuber-regium is a veritable source of mono- and poly-unsaturated
fatty acids, and ergosterol/provitamin D derivatives which may explain, in part, some of its reported
nutraceutical benefits.
