Abstract:

The effects of casing soils on the yield and quality of Ganoderma lingzhi were studied to provide a theoretical basis for the development of cultivation techniques and medicinal research of G. lingzhi. Ceramic soil, vermiculite, garden soil, sandy loam and peat soil were selected as casing soils, and without casing soil was used as control. The fruiting body yield, polysaccharide content, triterpenoid content, antioxidant activity of water extract and four heavy metal contents (lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) were determined as indicators for comprehensive analysis to screen the best casing soil. The yield of G. lingzhi was significantly increased by casing soil cultivation, but there was no significant difference among different casing soils. When vermiculite was used, the highest yield was achieved as 136.67 g/bag, which was 32.32% higher than that of the control. The highest polysaccharide content of G. lingzhi cultivated in peat soil was 6.72 mg/g, which was 1.54 times as much as that of cultivated without casing soil. When sandy loam soil was used as casing soil material, the content of triterpenoids was the highest (6.67 mg/g), which was 1.25 times that of the control. The results of antioxidant activity showed that sandy loam, ceramic soil and vermiculite cultivated G. lingzhi had the highest scavenging rate of DPPH free radical. The contents of heavy metals in G. lingzhi cultivated with different casing soil materials were different, but they were all lower than the national standard and reached the safe level. Among these casing soils, sandy loam, vermiculite and peat soil could be selected for G. lingzhi cultivation.

Key words: Ganoderma lingzhi, casing soil, quality, heavy metal, yield