Goan mushroom variety can aid fight against cancer: Study

PANAJI: The monsoon sees wild mushrooms sprout on anthills in forests across Goa. These mushrooms, known locally as roen olmi, are considered a seasonsal delicacy by Goans, though scientists have for decades warned against depleting this valuable resource for consumption.


Goa University researchers have now discovered the black pigment atop the mushroom is a sulphur rich melanin, which can prove a boon to those undergoing cancer treatment if explored for its pharmaceutical use.

"Those undergoing chemotheraphy are injected with melanin so that the radiation treatment doesnt harm the patient's skin. Melanin is highly desired for its multiple beneficial properties from bioremediation to drug delivery system and cancer treatment," said Rosy Agnes De Souza, a doctorate researcher at GU's botany department.

De Souza made the discovery two years ago, but the findings are out only this year after being published in the journal 'Mycology - An International Journal on Fungal Biology' by Mycological Society of China.

The GU findings now make it possible to produce this edible melanin artificially under controlled conditions for industrial purpose.

Scientist Nandkumar Kamat, De Souza's guide in the research and a co-author of the paper, said the melanin in the black pigment layer of Goa's roen olmis contains as much as 12% sulphur content, which is unusually high.

"Other edible foods, like fruits also have sulphur content in them, but it is difficult to process them for pharmaceutical or biotechnological use as most of them have a toxicity attached to them. This is not the case with the sulphur rich melanin in the roen olmis," said Kamat, whose research on the wild edible termitomyces species since 1986 has helped in understanding the genus, allowing for further exploration of its contents.

This is the first identification in the world of the chemical nature of the black pigment found in roen olmis as a melanin and professor Vishnu Nadkarni of GU's chemistry department, who is the third co-author of the paper published, helped confirm the findings.

De Souza who will be continuing her research in the area, to carve way for use of the discovered sulphur rich melanin for pharmaceutical and other use.

Sulphur rich melanin are extremely rare in fungi. Work on these species found in 40 countries is going in five countries but none was successful in purifying the pigment and determining its chemical structure.

"We are close to the Western Ghats and are within driving distance of these species, which made it easy to collect samples and test them while they are still fresh. This worked to our advantage. We have done it without the advanced instrumentation that laboratories elsewhere are working with in the same area," said Kamat.

The chemical identity of black pigment frequently reported in literature had eluded scientists for past 100 years. This paper has now filled the century old gap, said Kamat.