Biodegradable Sheets from Dried Mycelia of Edible Mushrooms

Abstract

Due to its quick growth and biodegradability, mushroom mycelium has been used to create alternative materials. This study aimed to produce mycelium sheets from market-purchased edible mushrooms (Lentinus sp. and Pleurotus sp.) and to assess the mycelium sheet properties. They were isolated and cultured in various liquid media. The production of four mycelium sheets was successful. After drying, the mycelium sheets of Pleurotus sp. using potato dextrose broth had the largest water contact angle. With a tensile strength, the mycelium sheet of Lentinus sp. using malt extract broth obtained the highest value. The dried mycelium sheet from Pleu-rotus sp. cultured on yeast extract broth had the greatest hardness value in the mi-crohardness testing. After 7 days, the residual dry weight of the mycelium sheets in different conditions-soil burying, soil surface exposure, and water immersion-was less than 50 % of the initial weight. This work has demonstrated the biodegra-dability of mycelium sheets.