Objective  Growth and chemical composition of fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum cultivated with varied substrates were studied.

  Method  Sawdust,Miscantuus floridulus, Dicranopteris dichotomy, and/or Gaint Juncao grass were used as the main ingredients in formulating substrates for cultivating G. lucidum in bags. The hyphae filling time, biotransformation rate, and contents of nutrients and heavy metals in fruiting bodies were compared between the experimental and the conventional sawdust cultivations. Nutrients and heavy metals in fruiting body were determined using the national standard methods.

  Result  No significant difference in the time taken for hyphae to fill the bag or primordium formation due to substrate formulation differentiation was observed. The fruiting body yield of 27.03 g and biotransformation rate of 13.52% under Formula C that consisted of 48% M. floridulus, 30% of D. dichotomy, 20% of wheat bran, and 2% of gypsum were slightly, but not significantly, higher than those of control. Under Formula B (78% M. floridulus, 20% wheat bran, and 2% gypsum) or Formula D (30% D. dichotomy, 48% giant Juncao, 20% wheat bran, and 2% gypsum), the fruiting bodies harvested had significantly higher crude protein than control (P＜0.05), but not under Formula C. The content of 12.01 mg·g⁻¹ on polysaccharides and 1.01 mg·g⁻¹ on triterpene in the fruiting bodies grown on Formula C (48% M. floridulus, 30% D. dichotomy, 20% wheat bran, and 2% gypsum) were significantly higher than those of control at 10.20 mg·g⁻¹ and 0.80 mg·g⁻¹, respectively. The differently formulated substrates resulted in basically same amounts of amino acids in the mushrooms but below the safety limits of heavy metals according to the National Food Safety Standards and Green Food Standards.

  Conclusion  Juncao appeared to provide significant advantages as a substrate for G. lucidum cultivation over sawdust.