Cultivation of oyster mushroom and extending their shelf life using ginger essential oils

Mushrooms are edible macro-fungi cultivated worldwide due to their nutritional and economic value. The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is an edible species belonging to the family Agaricaceae. Pleurotus ostreatus is commonly cultivated in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, at a small commercial farming scale. The demand for this mushroom is increasing annually due to increasing awareness of its dietary benefits. However, mushrooms are higly perishable commodities that quickly lose their distinictive organoleptic qualities and are easily contaminated after harvest. This charactersistic poses a significant challenge for mushroom growers. Previous studies have recommended to using chemical preservatives to extend the shelf life of harvested oyster mushrooms, but suchmethods may adversely affect consumer health. The present study focuses on assessing of Zingiber officinale oil as a natural and effective technique to extend the shelf life of Pleurotus ostreatus. Essential oil was extracted from Zingiber officinale. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was tested, and Pleurotus ostreatus samples were treated with100 µl, 200 µl, and 300 µl of the oil. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with IBM SPSS software version 21. The study demonstrated that the extracted oil significantly inhibited the growth of both bacteria and fugal species and extends the shelf life of Pleurotus ostreatus significantly up 10 days at (p < 0.05). The maximum inhibition zones (23.58 ± 0.43 mm and 14.85 ± 1.70 mm ) were recorded from S.aureus and C.tropicali.Therefore, ginger essential oil can be used as a modern and safe preservative agent to prolong the shelf life of postharvest mushrooms.