 Corresponding author: John Olanrewaju Babalola Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. Nutritional and functional properties of protein concentrate from two edible mushrooms John Olanrewaju Babalola 1, * , David Ademola Adesina 3 , Oludolapo Akinyemi Osunrinade 1 , Opeyemi Olaitan Alabi 2 , Roimat Folasade Azeez 1 , Lukuman Akande Azeez 1 and Oluwasegun Adekunle Adepoju 1 1 Food Science and Technology Department, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo State, Nigeria. 2 Food Science and Technology Department, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti state, Nigeria. 3 Department of Science Laboratory Technology, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo State, Nigeria. Open Access Research Journal of Life Sciences, 2023, 06(01), 068–074 Publication history: Received on 15 June 2023; revised on 02 August 2023; accepted on 04 August 2023 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.53022/oarjls.2023.6.1.0050 Abstract Mushrooms (Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus sajor-caju) protein concentrates were prepared using the iso-electric precipitate method. Nutritional and functional properties of the concentrates were evaluated. P-florida had moisture content of 12.17%, which is higher than 10.51% obtained for P-sajor-caju. Significant differences existed in the protein content of mushrooms concentrates estimated by kjedahl method. P-florida and P-sajor-caju had estimated protein concentration of 38.33% and 54.55% respectively based on nitrogen content. The ash and crude fibre content were higher in P-florida. The fat content of the concentrates were less than 1%. Carbohydrate contents of P -florida and P- sajor-caju were 40.96 % and 30.14% respectively. Water absorption capacity in P-florida and P-sajor-caju were 3.09g/g and 3.39g/g respectively, while oil absorption capacity was within the range of 2.16g/g-1.49g/g of P-florida and P-sajor- caju. The loose bulk density varies as 0.30g/ml in p-florida and 0.44g/ml in p-sajor-caju. The bulk density ranged between 0.37g/ml in P-florida and 0.61g/ml in P-sajor-caju. It could be recommended that edible mushroom may be used as thickener and flavor enhancer in some food production. Keywords: -Mushroom; Thickener; Enhancer; Iso-electric; Concentrates 1. Introduction Mushrooms are among minor forest produce which presently are regarded as a macro - fungi that belongs to the class Ascomycetes [1]. For industrial use and human consumption, mushrooms have been reported to be the third most cultivated largest macro-fungus. Its identity as natural and healthy foods is an indicator for global acceptability. It has been consumed by humans since ancient times among other naturally grown fungi. For decades, the use of Mushrooms for medicinal and food purposes had been explored. However, with respect to its use for nutritional purposes and enhancement of palatability, mushroom is still among the untapped resources. Though mushrooms are of high nutritional and functional value, they can also be taken as nutraceutical foods. Their consumption has been linked to their economic importance, medicinal properties and organoleptic merit [2;3]. Research reported that mushrooms protein value doubles that obtainable from vegetables and quadruples for oranges while significantly more than in wheat [4]. The nutritional content of Mushrooms makes it a suitable source of protein for diet enrichment, capable of use in countries where animal proteins are expensive or not available. Food and Agriculture Organization Publication in 1978 reported 3.7% as the protein content of fresh mushroom. According to Rai [5], comparatively the protein content of mushrooms on dry weight basis was reported to be 19-35% while rice, wheat, soybean, and corn were about 7.3%, 12.7%, 38.1% and 9.4% respectively.