International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics Vol. 3(1), pp. 1 - 5
DOI: 10.13189/ijbb.2015.030101
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Change in Concentration of Vitamin D₂ in Oyster Mushrooms Exposed to 254nm and 365nm UV-light During Growth

Tindibale L. Edward ^1,*, M. S. K. Kirui ¹, Josiah O. Omolo ², Richard G. Ngumbu ¹, Peter M. Odhiambo ¹, Kamweru Paul K. ^3
1 Department of Physics, Egerton University, Kenya
² Department of Chemistry, Egerton University, Kenya
³ Department of Physical Sciences, Chuka University, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The sun emits ultraviolet radiation in form of ultraviolet-A (UV-A), ultraviolet-B (UV-B), and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) bands. Ultraviolet light has the potential to boost vitamin D₂ production in mushrooms which human bodies cannot synthesize. The ergosterol in mushrooms, a component of fungal cell membranes which serves the same function as cholesterol in animal cells, can be converted into vitamin D₂ by exposure to controlled ultraviolet light. However mushrooms are conventionally grown in the dark, necessitating artificial ultraviolet irradiation. This study investigated the effects of UV-A (365nm) and UV-C (254nm) light exposure time during mushrooms growth, on the concentration of vitamin D₂ in oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus species) after harvest. Mushrooms samples exposure times were varied from 10-60 minutes per day at intervals of 10 minutes, and irradiation done for three days. UV spectroscopy was used to determine the amounts of Vitamin D₂. It was found that the absorbance of vitamin D₂ for UV-A light ranged from 0.18-0.49 for the 10-60 minutes of irradiation respectively, while for UV-C light the vitamin D₂ content absorbance was 0.38-0.81 for the 10-60 minutes of irradiation respectively. There was a linear relationship between time of irradiation and absorbance vitamin D₂ content up to 50 minutes for UV-A and 40 minutes for UV-C.

KEYWORDS
UV-A and UV-C light, Oyster Mushrooms, Vitamin D₂, Growth

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Tindibale L. Edward , M. S. K. Kirui , Josiah O. Omolo , Richard G. Ngumbu , Peter M. Odhiambo , Kamweru Paul K. , "Change in Concentration of Vitamin D₂ in Oyster Mushrooms Exposed to 254nm and 365nm UV-light During Growth," International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1 - 5, 2015. DOI: 10.13189/ijbb.2015.030101.

(b). APA Format:
Tindibale L. Edward , M. S. K. Kirui , Josiah O. Omolo , Richard G. Ngumbu , Peter M. Odhiambo , Kamweru Paul K. (2015). Change in Concentration of Vitamin D₂ in Oyster Mushrooms Exposed to 254nm and 365nm UV-light During Growth. International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 3(1), 1 - 5. DOI: 10.13189/ijbb.2015.030101.