Ojwang D. OtienoFrancis J. MulaaGeorge ObieroJacob Midiwo2024-07-112020-01Otieno, O. D., Mulaa, F. J., Obiero, G., & Midiwo, J. (2022). Utilization of fruit waste substrates in mushroom production and manipulation of chemical composition. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 39, 102250.https://repository.nrf.go.ke/handle/123456789/1290ArticleThe current study evaluated the effect of mushroom cultivation using fruit waste substrates on yield performance and antioxidant activities. The total phenolic content and the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities of the mushroom extracts were determined using colorimetric method. Mushroom P. eryngii had the highest yield of 87.2 ± 2.4 g/100 g dry substrate when grown on pineapple peels, while P.ostreatus yielded the least fruiting bodies 53.1 ± 1.8 g/100 g dry substrate when grown on orange peels. Similarly, P. eryngii grown on pineapple peels and P. ostreatus grown on orange peels had the highest and lowest biological efficiencies of 94.2 ± 3.5% and 69 ± 4.3%, respectively. The total phenolic content of P.ostreatus grown on avocado peels was 26.4 ± 3.8 mg GAE/g dry extract, while P.eryngii grown on avocado peels had the lowest at 9.3 ± 0.2 mg GAE/g dry extract. Mushrooms cultivated on fruit wastes generally exhibited higher DPPH activities than those grown on wheat straw (control) substrate. This study provided baseline information on the potential role of fruit waste substrates in mushroom growth and chemical composition.enArticle