Shelf-life extension of fresh Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) by application of Tomato paste

A mushroom is a fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The edible mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus ) are the fleshy edible bodies devoid of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Mushroom browning occurs mainly as a result of tyrosinase activity, an enzyme belonging to the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) family and known to be a key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis. Tomato is an attractive candidate for food processing applications as fresh cut. However along with its desirable delicate taste, tomato shows a marked susceptibility to browning. This condition is mainly attributed to polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO). This PPO activity was observed especially in flesh tissues which was probably due to the presence of monophenolic substrates inducing a lag period, enzyme inhibitors and / or diphenolic substrates causing suicide inactivation, and proenzyme or latent isoforms of PPO. A paste of fresh tomatoes (wild and hybrid) when applied to the freshly grown mushrooms were less subject to brown blotch as compared to the untreated mushroom. Other vegetable paste or paste made of the unwanted weeds that show tyrosinase activity can also be effected for the same purpose.