Abstract:[Background] Although being a major producer of edible fungi, China remains to improve the breeding of new varieties and strengthen the excavation and utilization of wild edible fungal resources. [Objective] To cultivate the fruiting bodies of Neolentinus lepideus and evaluate its development potential based on the biological activity analyses. [Methods] The wild fruiting bodies of N. lepideus were collected from Jiaocheng County, Shanxi Province, and the cultures were isolated and induced to produce fruiting bodies in the laboratory. The biological activities and nutrient composition of the artificially cultivated fruiting bodies were determined. [Results] From the wild fruiting bodies of N. lepideus, the strain ZYJ0862 was obtained and identified as N. lepideus by the phylogenetic analysis. On the medium with pine sawdust as the main material and corn meal as the complementary material, the strain was successfully induced to generate fruiting bodies. The artificially cultivated fruiting bodies had consistent morphological characteristics with the wild fruiting bodies. Compared with five other commercially cultivated mushrooms, the artificially cultivated fruiting bodies of N. lepideus showed strong antioxidant and cellulase activities, as well as certain lignin-degrading enzyme activities. In addition, the artificially cultivated fruiting bodies of N. lepideus had high protein, low calorie, and low fat. [Conclusion] The distribution of N. lepideus in Shanxi was reported for the first time in this study. The strain ZYJ0862 capable of generating fruiting bodies under artificial cultivation conditions demonstrated high development potential. This study provided a theoretical basis for the large-scale cultivation of N. lepideus.
