Biotech Updates

Ultraviolet Light Boosts Vitamin D in Mushrooms

September 9, 2011

A new commercial processing technology has been developed to boost the vitamin D content of mushrooms without affecting its taste and nutritional content. The technology involves exposure of mushrooms to ultraviolet light, the same kind that causes suntans.

According to the researchers of the study headed by Ryan Simon of Cantox Health Sciences International in Canada, not all people take up sufficient amount of vitamin D. There are only a few natural foods that contain high vitamin D and there are limitations in terms of what food could be fortified with higher vitamin D content. One of those few foods with good vitamin D content is mushroom.

The researchers compared the vitamin D content of button mushrooms exposed to UVB light with those exposed to natural sunlight. The button mushrooms exposed to UVB increased by 700 percent in vitamin D content compared with those not exposed to UVB. Other nutrients such as vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin were not affected by the process.

Know more details at http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_
ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=223&content_id=CNBP_028158&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__
uuid=8f3585c8-4261-4745-8c2c-f3a71e6231f9.