Fatty acid profiles of four wild mushrooms and their potential benefits for hypertension treatment.

Mushrooms are useful in balancing human diet and treating different health problems. The main determinant of the fluidity of erythrocyte membranes and rheologic properties of blood is the lipid composition of the membrane, which directly depends on lipids present in the diet. Lipid profiles of 4 European wild edible mushrooms, as well as the ability of mushroom lipids to modify the fluidity of erythrocyte membrane, were examined by using gas chromatography-mass spectometry, gas chromatography-flame ionization detector, and electron paramagnetic resonance spin probing technique. Lipids from 2 species--Macrolepiota procera and Collybia platyphylla--provoked an increase in erythrocyte membrane fluidity. Therefore, introduction of these and other wild mushrooms with similar lipid profiles to the human diet could be very beneficial in the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases related to decreased fluidity of erythrocyte membranes.