Sun Dried Mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus) Powder Incorporated Paneer and its Impact on Vitamin D Status of Selected Women

Drying mushrooms is a wonderful way to preserve them for long-term storage. The increasing demands and the accompanying value addition present a great opportunity for the dairy industry to take up the production and marketing of various dairy products especially traditional products on an industrial scale. The study focussed on value-added product development by sun-drying mushrooms and incorporating its powder into a dairy product such as paneer, further supplementing the product for raising the serum levels of vitamin-D in Vitamin-D deficient women. Mushrooms were sundried under UV light for 6 hrs and then powdered and incorporated into paneer in two variations ( Variation 1 and Variation 2). The proximate analysis revealed significant increase in the nutrient content in variations of sundried mushroom powder enriched paneer. The vitamin D content of sundried mushroom powder enriched paneer increased significantly. Supplementation of sun dried mushroom powder enriched paneer (variation 1) in vitamin D deficient women significantly increased the serum levels of vitamin D after feeding trial for one week. This improvement in vitamin D status could be attributed to the bioavailability of vitamin D2 from vitamin D2 enhanced mushroom through sunlight exposure. The results of sensory evaluation showed that the incorporation of sun dried mushroom powder in blends of cow milk was found suitable without affecting the sensory characteristics significantly.