International Food Research Journal 26(2): 367-376 (April 2019)

Journal homepage: http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my

Review
A review: Production and postharvest management of Volvariella volvacea

1
Nur Sakinah, M. J., 1*Misran, A., 1Mahmud, T. M. M. and 2Abdullah, S.

1
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Article history Abstract

Received: 15 May 2017 Volvariella volvacea (Family: Plutaceae), also more commonly known as paddy straw
Received in revised form: mushroom, is an edible mushroom with high nutritional content. It is usually cultivated using
29 December 2017 lignocellulosic-based materials for enhanced production. However, V. volvacea is highly
Accepted: 13 September 2018
perishable and easily deteriorates in terms of quality and appearance after harvest. The present
Keywords paper thus aimed to provide a critical review on aspects related to the production of V. volvacea
using palm oil empty fruit bunch as cultivation substrate. The different stages of V. volvacea
Postharvest
development are also highlighted. The present review also provides some information on the
Paddy straw mushroom
cultivation
preservation techniques and appropriate postharvest management in extending V. volvacea
Volvariella volvacea shelf life to further boost the paddy straw mushroom industry.
Shelf life
© All Rights Reserved
Storage

Introduction that contain cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (Roy

et al., 2014). V. volvacea is harvested at the button
Over the recent decades, V. volvacea (paddy stage when it is considered to have the best flavour
straw mushroom) has become one of the most and texture. Usually, V. volvacea is marketed locally
preferable cultivated mushrooms which contributed as fresh produce through night markets, wet markets
to the top commercial mushrooms in the world with and grocery outlets.
5% of total production (Chang, 1999; Ahlawat et V. volvacea typically contains 85-90% moisture
al., 2010; Roy et al., 2014). V. volvacea is a popular and rapidly respire (Rai and Arumuganathan, 2008),
mushroom variety because it produces aromatic hence is highly perishable. Therefore, it would easily
and pleasant flavour and tastes, as well as shorter deteriorate as a result of biochemical degradation and
cropping period (Thiribhuvanamala et al., 2012; Roy improper handling during harvest, packaging and
et al., 2014; He et al., 2018). It is commonly known transport as occurred in shiitake mushroom (Antmann
as paddy straw mushroom because it grows best on et al., 2008). One of the major problems that limit the
paddy straw. It was also called Chinese mushroom shelf life of V. volvacea is browning and shrivelling
as it was believed that the Chinese were the first who which are related to the loss of water. As a result,
cultivated it (Chang, 1977). The fruiting body of V. most of the fresh V. volvacea can only stand for 1-2
volvacea appears white with large cap and short stipe days at ambient temperature. Therefore, the present
underneath, and it is cultivated mainly in China, India paper aimed to review the cultivation of V. volvacea
and Southeast Asian countries. and its postharvest management in extending its shelf
As Malaysia is a tropical country with hot and life.
humid climate and average temperature of 30-35°C,
V. volvacea has been well cultivated in this region, and Part 1: Nutritional aspect of Volvariella volvacea
the surrounding temperature enhances its cultivation Proximate composition
thereby leading to harvest as early as 10 days after Mushrooms are rich in nutrients and provide
cultivation (Thiribhuvanamala et al., 2012). The medicinal properties. Protein is one of the important
yield of V. volvacea depends on the cultivation nutritional components highly found in most edible
methods and substrates used. V. volvacea is normally mushrooms (Hung and Nhi, 2012). Some people
grown on paddy straw and few other plant wastes consume mushrooms as source of protein essential

*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
368 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376

to their body. Mushrooms also contain medicinal the body. This should be taken into considerations
properties and functional foods for human health in for estimation of daily intake of this mushroom.
which they contain high level of proteins, few vitamins Nevertheless, there is also large amount of vitamin
(vitamin C, riboflavin, biotin, niacin and thiamine), C found in V. volvacea. Other vitamins include
and source of dietary fibre (Chang and Miles, 2004; riboflavin, biotin, niacin and thiamine (Chang and
Rai and Arumuganathan, 2008; Guo et al., 2012; Roy Miles, 2004; Roy et al., 2014). Table 2 shows the
et al., 2014). In addition, V. volvacea does not contain summary of mineral and vitamin contents at button
cholesterol (Belewu and Belewu, 2005; Rajapakse, stage of V. volvacea.
2011). V. volvacea is also high in moisture content
Table 2. Components of minerals and vitamins in button
ranging from 88 to 90% of fresh weight. According stage of V. volvacea
to Ghosh (1993), V. volvacea produces protein
Concentrations
intercellularly. V. volvacea enzymatic activities are Components
(mg)
References
high on the first day of growth and decline on the Minerals
next day onwards. Table 1 summarises the proximate
Phosphorus 1322
composition of V. volvacea at button stage from
Sodium 347
different investigations.
Potassium 4136
Chang and
Table 1. Comparison of proximate composition of V. Calcium 325 Quimio, (1982);
volvacea Chang and Miles
Magnesium 180
Chang Hung (2004).
Chang and Copper 5.92
Components and Ul-Haq et and
Quimio Zinc 10.27
(%) Miles al. (2011) Nhi
(1982)
(2004) (2012) Iron 11.59

Moisture 88.7 – 89.5 89.1 86.1 – 89.9 90.7 Vitamins

Thiamine 0.35
Niacin 64.88 FAO (1972);
Carbohydrate 40.0 – 50.6 45.3 - 52.3
Chang and Miles
Riboflavin 1.63 – 2.98 (2004);
Fat 1.1 – 3.7 2.4 - 2.2 Vitamin C 1.4

Fibre 5.1 – 13.4 9.3 7.9 – 11.9 - Phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties
Oxidation is vital for living organisms for
Protein 21.3 – 30.5 25.9 20.3 – 34.2 28.6 energy production to perform all the necessary
biological process in the body (Yang et al., 2002;
Ash 8.1 – 9.5 8.8 10.8 9.0 Gan et al., 2013). According to Javan et al. (2015),
phenolic compounds are multifunctional in clinical
Amino acids composition aspects which serve as prevention against harmful
Generally, protein in mushrooms, including microorganisms in the body. According to Hung
V. volvacea, provides all the essential amino acids and Nhi (2012), among other edible mushrooms, V.
required for human dietary intake especially lysine volvacea has showed the highest phenolic content
and leucine which are present in other staple foods which was 4,122.7 µg GAE/g sample of dry weight.
(Chang and Busswell, 1996). The essential amino The other mushrooms such as Auricularia polytricha
acids should be present simultaneously to complete the yielded only 474.4 µg GAE/g DW. The amount of
process of protein synthesis, while the non-essential phenolic compounds in mushrooms plays a major
amino acids can be synthesised and converted by the role towards their antioxidant capacity which help
human body (Chang and Miles, 2004). their consumers fight against the risks of chronic
diseases and cancers. Mushrooms could also become
Minerals and vitamins functional foods and great sources for pharmaceutical
Mushrooms are also good sources of minerals medicines. The radical-scavenging activity of DPPH
which are vital for the absorption by the sporophores in V. volvacea was parallel to the amount of phenolic
through a growing mycelium (Chang and Quimio, content, and yielded high antioxidant activity of
1982; Chang and Miles 2004). Minerals are divided approximately 82.9% (Hung and Nhi, 2012).
into two categories which are major and minor Boonsong et al. (2016) have used several
mineral constituents. However, V. volvacea has also extractants to extract five edible mushroom samples
been found to be contaminated by heavy metals such include V. volvacea at mature stage. The results
as cadmium and lead which could accumulate in indicated that the highest amount of total phenolic
 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376 369

compounds and flavonoids were found when Button and egg stages
extracted using 50% (v/v) ethanol. About 27.89 mg Both button and egg stages (Figures 1c and
GAE/g DW and 7.29 mg QE/g DW were analysed 1d) have ovoid shape and they are most preferred
from V. volvacea extract which in turn led to strong by consumers, and sold at premium price through
DPPH radical-scavenging activity due to the ability commercialisation (Chang and Miles, 2004; Ahlawat
to donate electrons to scavenge the DPPH radicals. and Tewari, 2007; Jamjumroon et al., 2012). The
structure called pileus is wrapped by a coat known
Part 2:Preharvest management of Volvariella as universal veil with smaller size at button stage
volvacea (Ahlawat and Tewari, 2007). The pileus and stipe
Development stages of V. volvacea (stalk) can be seen through a longitudinal structure
V. volvacea typically comprises of six maturity cut where the universal veil formed with ruptured
stages which are pinhead, tiny button, button, volva (cup) at the base (Chang and Miles, 2004).
egg, elongation, and mature stages. Different
developmental stages have different morphological Elongation stage
and anatomical characteristics (Ahlawat and Tewari, The elongation stage (Figure 1e) refers to the
2007). Figures 1a-f show the structure of V. volvacea increasing length of the stipe. The pileus remains
at the mentioned six different growth stages. unopened (Ahlawat and Tewari, 2007). The lamellae
appear as thin tissue projected from margin area
towards the stipe, and can be seen hanging below the
pileus (Chang and Miles, 2004).

Mature stage
According to Ahlawat and Tewari (2007), at
mature stage (Figure 1f), V. volvacea has complete
structure of pileus, stipe and volva. Figure 1(g) shows
the complete structure of V. volvacea. Volva with
bulbous base has fleshy texture, white colour and
cup-shaped with rhizomorph for nutrient absorption
from substrate and serve as food storage. Stipe is an
interconnected structure holding between volva and
pileus, and the length of the stipe depends on the
size of the pileus. Pileus is circular shape when it
expands to maximum size with an entire margin and
soft surface which can be recognised by darker grey
colour at the centre and light grey at the margin. It has
Figure 1. (a-f) shows growth stage of V. volvacea which diameter of about 6 to 12 cm which might vary due
comprise of a (pinhead stage), b (tiny button stage), c to environmental factors and absorption of nutrition
(button stage), d (egg stage), e (elongation stage), and f from substrates used.
(mature stage). Figure 1(g) shows complete structure of
mature V. volvacea. Figure 1(h) shows intercrop plantation Cultivation of Volvariella volvacea
of rubber and mushroom. Nowadays, the cultivation of V. volvacea uses
various types of substrates especially paddy straw
waste which is usually used for the vegetative growth
Pinhead and tiny button stages and fruit body development of V. volvacea. Paddy
Pinhead and tiny button stages of V. volvacea straw and few other plant wastes contain cellulose,
(Figures 1a and 1b) begin from the development of hemicelluloses and lignin which are derived from
interwoven hyphal growth on the substrate. Pinhead the polysaccharides of the plant cell wall. They help
has thicker veil and is evenly white at the margin bacteria in composting by attacking the cellulose
(round edge) and darker colour at the underneath and hemicellulose during favourable conditions. The
centre (Ahlawat and Tewari, 2007). Tiny button stage metabolic actions by bacteria and microorganisms
(Figure 1b) has rounded shape with brown universal enable the conversion of nitrogenous materials into
veil at the top and white at the rest part through a proteinaceous structure and thus elevated the protein
vertical cut, lamellae (gills) under the pileus (cap) supply for later growth of mushrooms. The action
(Chang and Miles, 2004). of bacterial activities also might cause the compost
370 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376

substrate to become acidic (Chang and Miles, 2004). rice husk had significantly increased V. volvacea
Other bed cultivation media such as sugarcane production to about 1,360 g/bed with 13.60%
bagasse, oil palm bunch waste, maize stubbles, biological efficiency.
cotton waste, water hyacinth, and banana leaf waste
have also been used in the cultivation of V. volvacea Cultivation of Volvariella volvacea using empty fruit
(Thiribhuvanamala et al., 2012). The agricultural bunch of oil palm
wastes used in the cultivation medium of V. volvacea The use of empty fruit bunch (EFB) as a substrate
are quite important because they affect the nutrient for bed cultivation of V. volvacea gives a lot of benefits.
content in the mushrooms (Roy et al., 2014). EFB is a cheap recyclable residue and easily accessed
The yield of V. volvacea also depends on the since Malaysia has a wide palm oil plantation.
nutrient content in the cultivation medium, as According to Ukoima et al. (2009), the use of EFB has
investigated by Thiribhuvanamala et al. (2012). increased the production of V. volvacea. Besides, this
Different substrates have various lignocellulosic also reduces the biomass waste in the environment.
enzymes that help in the vegetative growth and In Malaysia, the cultivation of V. volvacea is usually
fructification of mushrooms. The usage of paddy done by intercropping with rubber tree. This helps
straw combined with empty fruit bunch of oil the farmers to gain extra income and maximise the
palm waste had resulted in significant increase in utilisation of rubber plantation. Figure 1h shows the
the production of vegetative body of V. volvacea intercropping plantation of rubber and mushroom in
as compared to other treatments. High amount of a rubber estate in Padang Terap, Kedah. According to
energy present in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin Chang and Miles (2004), the technology introduced
are useful as recyclable biomass components. These would increase the mushroom’s production yield and
enzymes play a vital role in the development of V. shorten the cropping period. The organic cultivation
volvacea (Chang and Miles, 2004; Roy et al., 2014). substrates could come from industrial, agricultural or
The best condition of substrate should have household wastes.
several criteria such as good anchorage. A substrate There are three main stages in cultivating V.
with good anchorage can hold water for the volvacea which are composting, incubating and
mushroom’s survival and provide good aeration formation of fruiting body. The Department of
for its development. Besides, compost substrate Agriculture in Padang Terap, Kedah has proposed the
should have good chemical content for the optimum ‘3T concept’ to V. volvacea growers and producers
absorption of nutrients, suitable pH, proper drainage, which are “Tanam” (cultivate), “Tunggu” (wait) and
and good condition for microbial activity which “Tuai” (harvest)”.
further enhances the mushroom growth (Chang and
Miles, 2004). In Malaysia, V. volvacea are not widely Composting empty fruit bunches
cultivated as compared to Philippines and Thailand In cultivating V. volvacea, the cultivation bed
where the yield could reach 2 million tonnes annually composting medium is prepared by incubating
(Chang and Quimio, 1982). However, adding 908 g the fresh EFB under closed poly sheet plastics
rice bran and 12% nitrogen and phosphorus per bed to create warm atmosphere of around 30-35°C.
of 31.8 kg dry weight had increased the production This temperature range is agreed as optimum for
to 100% and this has been practiced by some farmers V. volvacea cultivation as reported by Thakur and
in Malaysia. Singh (2014). The optimum pH would be 7-8 along
Lignocellulose derived from organic materials the composting period until the end of fructification
such as timber and plant residues and their compounds (Chang and Miles, 2004). The successful composting
are complex and insoluble. Since lignocellulosic of EFB can be seen if the EFB compost is within the
materials are very resistance to breakdown, treatments preferable warm temperature and there is no other
with calcium chloride (CaCl2) and hydrochloric fungal growth such as Coprinus sp. on it. Composted
acid (HCl) could increase the digestibility by and EFB would then be arranged closely in the bed
nutritional qualities for mushrooms. They also for V. volvacea to grow. According to Chang and
help in the production of sugar which is utilised Miles (2004), V. volvacea would have higher yield
as carbon source. Other than using chemicals, the if the growth substrates are herbaceous materials
use of microbiological techniques is quite practical rich in cellulose and hemicellulose. The mushroom
with low handling cost to enhance better quality of production on the EFB bed would last for about three
nutrients and increase the commercial worth from to four weeks from the first flush. As the production
organic wastes (Chang and Miles, 2004). Tripathy et stops, the used EFB substrate could be re-composed
al. (2011) revealed that the use of wheat bran and and used as fertiliser.
 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376 371

Incubation V. volvacea respiration rate is higher during the

The ideal temperature for the formation of button stage and at high temperature (Jamjumroon
mushroom fruit bodies is about 32 ± 2°C (Thakur and et al., 2012). Therefore, the temperature should be
Singh, 2014). Incubation at optimum temperature reduced to ±15°C to slow the respiration rate, control
enhances the mycelial growth and fructification. its physiological weight loss, preserve their quality,
After the completion of mycelial growth, the spawn and prolong their shelf life after harvest. Therefore,
needs good access to light to trigger the fruit body temperature control can be considered as one of the
formation. Besides, good air ventilation also enhances postharvest management methods. The postharvest
mushroom fructification where they get oxygen losses of V. volvacea could be reduced if proper,
and eliminate the excess carbon dioxide produced suitable and practical postharvest management
during the incubation period (Chang and Miles, methods are being employed.
2004). High amount of energy present in cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin are useful as recyclable Pre-cooling
biomass components. The enzymes play a vital role Pre-cooling functions to remove the field heat
in the development of V. volvacea (Chang and Miles, from the surrounding environment of the harvested
2004; Roy et al., 2014). Stake of curved pipes are fresh produce. This is to fulfil the refrigeration
built on the bed medium to provide areas for the capacity to cool the fresh produce towards or near
mushroom growth. Within a week, the mushroom the required temperature. The fresh produce would
production can be seen growing on the EFB bed have longer storage life if the temperature is quickly
medium. However, the formation of fruit body might reduced to the optimum storage temperature. This will
occur early due to the environmental factors such as help the harvested fresh produce to remain longer,
temperature and humidity. avoid freezing, minimise desiccation and maximise
their storage life. The rapid or fast cooling of fresh
Formation of fruiting body produce is known as pre-cooling, and this method
V. volvacea is usually harvested at the button usually benefits the perishable and sensitive fresh
stage because at this stage the mushroom is more produce (Wills et al., 2007). Generally, mushrooms
chewy with good texture and flavour which receive are sensitive to temperature changes and have high
high demand from the consumers (Jamjumroon et respiration rate which could further accelerate their
al., 2012; He et al., 2018). Thakur and Singh (2014) deterioration. Therefore, rapid respiring commodities
stated that the formation of fruit body might occur as which have short postharvest life should be quickly
early as the 12th and 13th days of the cultivation. V. cooled to remove their field heat right after they were
volvacea is the only mushroom that can be harvested harvested. According to Jamjumroon et al. (2012)
within a short planting period as compared to the other rapid forced-air cooling might help in maintaining
mushrooms (Thiribhuvanamala et al., 2012; Thakur the fresh state quality of V. volvacea. The forced-
and Singh 2014). The button stage of V. volvacea air cooling should be conducted within the suitable
takes about 12-24 hours to reach the veil opening temperature range to avoid chilling injury which
stage. Sharp blade or knife is highly recommended might also affect the mushrooms’ quality during the
to be used during harvest to minimise the mechanical storage period.
damage.
In Malaysia, the common practice is to harvest at Packaging
both button and egg stages since both are acceptable Packaging is one of the important processes
in the market. This is also due to the button stage of in maintaining the survival and freshness of fresh
V. volvacea which grows very fast into the egg stage produce. The fresh produce should reach the
(within 6-7 hours). Therefore, growers tend to market consumers in fresh and good conditions. They must
the mushrooms immediately after harvest. be fresh in terms of their texture such as colour,
firmness and water content. V. volvacea has a short
Part 3: Postharvest management of Volvariella shelf life of just 1-2 days at room temperature
volvacea (Jamjumroon et al., 2012). This is due to the high
There are several undesirable appearances of respiration rate which eventually leads to high water
V. volvacea after harvest such as fast veil opening, loss. Besides, V. volvacea is also easily exposed to
elongation of the stalk, browning, and weight loss. All browning (Jamjumroon et al., 2013). Therefore,
these lead to the mushrooms becoming unattractive in suitable packaging materials should be applied to
their appearances and deteriorating in quality which prolong the storage period and delay the deterioration
in turn decrease the economic value of V. volvacea of V. volvacea.
(Mercado and Alabastro, 1989).
372 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastic life up to six days with the combination with other
packaging material is made from the polymerisation treatment such as perforated packaging to allow the
of ethylene. This is the cheapest and simplest plastic. It exchange of gaseous, and storage temperature within
acts as good moisture barrier (Mangaraj et al., 2009), 12 ± 1°C. The treatment combination of CaCl2 and
and has high permeability ratio for carbon dioxide packaged in 40 perforations (6.8 × 10−4% area of
and oxygen which helps in minimising or preventing MAP-based packaging) showed significantly higher
water vapour accumulation in the packaging. amount of total phenolic content of about 2,423.75
Furthermore, V. volvacea has high respiration rate ± 96.94 as compared to control of only 1,083.16 ±
of about 100-280 CO2/kg/h (Jamjumroon et al., 59.14 mg of GAE/g DW. The addition of CaCl2 has
2012) which could cause watery microenvironment also been shown to increase V. volvacea texture and
inside the packaging, which also eventually leads to firmness (Moon and Lo, 2013). Approximately 0.5%
deterioration in quality. CaCl2 could be the optimum concentration to be
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is applied on V. volvacea.
another simple, economical and practical method According to Miklus and Beelman (1996), CaCl2
in retaining the mushroom quality and shelf life treatment benefited both the pre- and postharvest.
(Kim et al., 2006). According to Dhalsamant et al. The pre-harvest treatment was conducted during the
(2015), MAP with perforations could prolong the irrigation to supply the CaCl2 to the mushroom. This
shelf life of V. volvacea up to six days within storage resulted in a better postharvest production quality
temperature of 12 ± 1°C. The introduction of MAP to where it significantly decreased browning. Barden et
the mushrooms during storage could accumulate as al. (1990) found that introducing 0.5% CaCl2 during
well as circulate the concentration of carbon dioxide the irrigation of Agaricus bisporus had increased its
in and out of the packaging. Accumulation of carbon shelf life by 64%.
dioxide might reduce the browning activities in V. The implemented optimum amount of CaCl2
volvacea tissues and therefore increases its shelf during irrigation also reduced bacterial growth on V.
life. According to Jamjumroon et al. (2012), MAP volvacea. Mau et al. (1993) supplied the irrigation
also reduces V. volvacea browning during storage water with 0.3% CaCl2 which significantly reduced
by controlling the rate of oxygen and carbon dioxide the enzymatic activity to less than 50% at day 9 of
content in the packaging. Excessive carbon dioxide storage at 3-12°C. The postharvest treatment of CaCl2
of about 40-60% for a duration of 12 hours might to V. volvacea resulted in increase of weight loss
increase the browning activities. It is called high during storage which was up to 12.35 ± 2.23%. This
carbon dioxide shock. The implementation of 10- might be due to the fact that 0.5% CaCl2 concentration
20% carbon dioxide with 15% oxygen could provide which was sprayed on the mushrooms triggered the
optimum condition throughout the storage period, water to loss into the surrounding (Dhalsamant et al.,
and has shown a decrease in browning activities and 2015).
reduction of PPO enzymes in treated V. volvacea as
compared to samples exposed to normal air where Storage temperature
their PPO activity was above 0.25 Abs/min/ g fresh V. volvacea should be stored in cooler storage
weight. temperature as compared to ambient to prolong their
According to Gorris and Peppelenbos (1992), shelf life. The storage at ambient temperature would
unsuitable packaging of samples might also lead to easily deteriorate their quality (browning, weight loss)
quality loss and product deterioration. They suggested and therefore decrease their shelf life (Jamjumroon et
vacuum packaging system because it could reduce al., 2012). V. volvacea stored at ambient temperature
the microbial metabolism thereby slowing down could only retain their quality for less than one day.
spoilage and/or pathogenic activities. According to Bernas et al. (2006), the inappropriate
storage temperatures for V. volvacea at ambient
Calcium chloride (CaCl2) temperature could negatively affect the content of the
In a research conducted by Dhalsamant et al. amino acids in the mushroom. Therefore, V. volvacea
(2015), it was found that V. volvacea treated with CaCl2 should be kept cool after harvest. The optimum
showed lower total bacterial count as compared to the temperature might help V. volvacea to reduce their
untreated samples. This treatment helped in reducing respiration rate and thus decrease their deterioration
the effect of spoilage and lowering the deterioration rate. Table 3 shows the conditions of V. volvacea at
rate. As a result, the V. volvacea had longer postharvest button stage stored at different storage temperatures.
 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376 373

Table 3. Physiological changes of V. volvacea stored at different temperatures

Temperature storage (°C) Conditions Shelf life (days) Authors
Browning, water-soaking body tissue, Rai and Arumuganathan (2008);
< 15 1-2
chilling injuries Jamjumroon et al. (2012)
Maintain good quality, avoid chilling Rai and Arumuganathan, (2008);
~ 15 3
injuries Jamjumroon et al. (2012); Bao et al. (2013)
Rapid deterioration of pilei part, Bernas et al. (2006); Jamjumroon et al.
> 25 1-2
browning, weight loss (2012)

The optimum storage temperature for V. volvacea help to remove water content in the mushrooms and
is 15°C (Jamjumroon et al., 2012; Bao et al., 2013; preserve them for a longer period. Drying method
Rai and Arumuganathan, 2008). V. volvacea stored could minimise the cost of conducting and also
at 8-12°C was found to have short shelf life of less could promote an environmental friendly impact
than two days. V. volvacea is rather sensitive to in postharvest processing. Besides, removal of
lower temperature because it is usually grown in moisture by drying could also maintain the quality by
tropical climate rather than other mushrooms such reducing microbial contamination and biochemical
as oyster, white button, and shiitake that undergo activities which contribute to deterioration (Rai and
their vegetative growth in cooler climate and prone Arumuganathan, 2008; Mujumdar and Law, 2010).
to chilling injury (Jamjumroon et al., 2012; He et al., In advanced technology, microwave vacuum drying
2018). method has been investigated and shown to improve
the texture and colour of mushrooms as compared to
Pre-treatment prior to consumption air drying (Mujumdar and Law, 2010).
Since V. volvacea has shorter shelf life as
compared to other mushrooms, growers also practice Pickling
several preservation processes to retain its quality Pickling is one of preservation methods of V.
and preserve it for a longer storage period. This volvacea. In terms of economic-saving, pickling
is to ensure the economic viability during lower is more suitable for long-term storage (Rai and
mushroom production (off season) when the prices Arumuganathan, 2008). In Padang Terap, Kedah,
of V. volvacea fluctuates. These processes involve Malaysia, the growers usually use salt as the
freezing, drying and pickling. preservative medium. V. volvacea is boiled before
soaked in salty medium of sodium chloride.
Freezing Furthermore, blanching and soaking could also
Freezing of V. volvacea can be performed below preserve the colour of V. volvacea after storage
-20°C. Usually, mushrooms are frozen below -18°C and are able to maintain the production during
(Rai and Arumuganathan, 2008). According to off season when the prices are going up (Rai and
Thiribhuvanamala et al. (2012), freezing can preserve Arumuganathan, 2008; Moon and Lo, 2014). Figure
the mushroom’s structure and quality, reduce bacterial 2 shows the summary of postharvest management on
contamination, and lead to the opening of veil for V. volvacea.
about two days storage, and no spoilage occurred
within 36 hours of storage. After two days storage
at -20°C, it will give a particular smell and prevent
the mushroom from a slimy fluid on the mushroom
surfaces. Freezing has led to a significant decrease in
sliminess in Boletus edulis. However, freezing could
also alter the mushroom tissue in which it would
lose its turgor pressure after thawing, thereby losing
in hardness and crispiness after 12 months storage
(Jaworska and Bernas, 2010). According to Czapski
and Szudyga (2000), freezing has also been shown to
decrease the whiteness of Agaricus bisporus by 17%.

Drying
Drying of mushrooms includes air drying, freeze
drying and oven drying (Rai and Arumuganathan,
2008; Moon and Lo, 2014). All these drying methods Figure 2. Postharvest management of V. volvacea
374 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376

Part 4: Research related to Volvariella volvacea have gained the attention of scientists regarding
Protein composition in V. volvacea their immunomodulation and antitumor properties
Whole-genome sequencing is considered a (Singdevsachan et al., 2016). Different type of
powerful method to understand the biological extractions have provided a variety of glycan-based
characteristics related to V. volvacea. Bao et al. (2013) polysaccharides with different patterns of branching
has successfully sequenced V. volvacea genome. and type of sugar molecules attached to them (Das et
The V. volvacea whole genome sequence has been al., 2010). Some chemically modified β-glucans from
assembled into 62 scaffolds with a total genome size V. volvacea have shown inhibitory activity towards
of 35.7 megabase pairs (Mbp) and around 11,084 the development of mouse-transplanted tumours
predicted models of gene. This study has provided us (Kishida et al., 1992).
with a model for future study on the progression of Three fractions have been obtained from hybrid
specific molecular mechanisms which correlated with mushroom which involved backcross mating of
the physiological and biochemical characteristics of PfloVv12 and V. volvacea known as PS-I, PS-
V. volvacea. II and PS-III (Nandan et al., 2011). It was found
An immunomodulatory protein (Fip) has been that PS-I was 1,6-β glucan while PS-II and PS-III
purified from V. volvacea, and designated as Fip-vvo were mannoglucogalactan, and they differed by
(Hsu et al., 1997). FIP-vvo has been seen to stimulate molecular weights. In another study, a water soluble
maximum proliferation of human peripheral blood heteroglycan, which was isolated from the fruit
lymphocytes, and agglutinate erythrocytes in rat and bodies of P. florida and V. volvacea, resulted in the
rabbit. In another study, the gene that encodes for the hybrid mushroom consisted of (1→3)-, (1→6)-,
FIP-vvo has been cloned from V. volvacea mycelia, (1→3,4)-linked, and terminal β-d-Glcp along with
and its recombinant was further expressed in the (1→2,6)-α-d-Galp and terminal α-d-Manp (Bhunia
Pichia pastoris expression system (Sun et al., 2014). et al., 2012).
P. pastoris is a type of yeast responsible for protein
production through recombinant DNA method. In Conclusion
vitro assays of biological activities discovered that
the reFIP-vvo showed the same immunomodulating The research about the production and
capabilities as their natural form. postharvest storage life of V. volvacea is still very
There are 41 differentially expressed genes of limited. There are still lacks in information regarding
V. volvacea encoding for FAD-binding proteins in their cultivation, nutritional values, application of
homokaryons and heterokaryons (Meng et al., 2013). effective and affordable treatment in extending the
Using quantitative real-time PCR, the expression shelf life and delivering their potential benefits to the
levels of these genes were found to be different. It consumers. This aspect should and could be enhanced
is suggested that these differentially expressed genes since V. volvacea can be easily cultivated in tropical
are highly responsible in supporting the differences countries including Malaysia. Furthermore, the use of
in genetic and phenotypic between homokaryons and empty fruit bunches as a growth medium and source
heterokaryons in V. volvacea. of nutrition fulfils and supports the Government’s
recommendations in creating green environment
Polysaccharides composition in Volvariella with cheap recyclable materials. V. volvacea contains
volvacea high nutritional content including protein, and is
Based on the beneficial characters and importance highly suggested as a main source of protein in the
of V. volvacea and Pleurotus florida nowadays, a humans’ diet.
study has been conducted by Chakraborty and Sikdar
(2008) which showed that the possibility to combine Acknowledgement
both mushrooms using protoplast fusion approach.
About 12 somatic hybrid lines were produced via The financial support received under the
polyethylene glycol-mediated intergeneric protoplast Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2016/
fusion using a double selection method. It turned out WAB01/UPM/15) and MyBrain15 from the Ministry
that P. florida hybrid line demonstrated high biological of Education is gratefully acknowledged. The authors
efficiency and tolerant towards temperature backcross would also like to thank Dr. Azhar Mohamad from
progeny line. Therefore, through this programme a the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, and Mr. Yuzaidi from
new hybrid of mushrooms could be commercialised the Department of Agriculture, Padang Terap, Kedah
in a larger scale of cultivation. who provided information on the current practice and
In recent years, polysaccharides from mushrooms methods for V. volvacea cultivation.
 Nur Sakinah, M. J., Misran, A., Mahmud, T. M. M. and Abdullah, S./IFRJ 26(2) : 367-376 375

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