Physicochemical Properties, Nutritional Composition, and Phylogenic Analysis of Black Truffles Grown in Fars Province, Iran

Among all edible mushrooms, truffles are the most expensive ones. This study assessed nutritional properties and phylogenic characteristics of black truffles grown in two regions of southern Iran.

In this experimental study, the samples were collected from two towns of Firuzabad and Sarvestan in Fars Province, southern Iran. They were analyzed in terms of chemical properties (carbohydrate, protein, reducing sugar, antioxidant, fat, minerals, and ash) according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) procedures. The sequence alignment and tree were determined using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA7) software. The Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of rDNA of the two truffles was amplified using ITS1 and ITS4 primers and were sequenced. The phylogenic analysis was conducted using Nucleotide Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in the GeneBank (NCBI).

Specimens for the two regions were very similar in composition. The samples of Firuzabad and Sarvestan contained 63.5 and 66% carbohydrate, 13.06 and 12.93% protein, 5.81 and 5.69% fat, 5.16 and 5.05% ash, 2.05 and 1.72% reducing sugar based on dry weight, respectively. The truffles belonged to the species of Terfezia claveryi and the IST sequences of the truffles of the two areas were similar.

The Iranian black truffles were shown to be a good source of carbohydrate, protein, and minerals. These truffles in comparison to other mushroom had more antioxidant activity considering Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) values of 21.57 and 23.54 mmol per 100 g on dryweightbase. The genome sequences of truffles for the two cities were identical.