Nutritional and Chemical Compositions of The Desert Truffle (Terfezia Claveryi) in Samawa City of Iraq

The present study was conducted to investigate the nutritional and phytochemical composition (amino acids, phenolic compounds) of Terfezia claveryi collected from Samawa city. The macro-Kjeldahl technique was used to determine the crude protein content (N6.25) of the samples. A Soxhlet device was used to determine the crude fat content. The identification of free amino acids and individual phenolic compounds were performed by an amino acid analyzer and High-Performance Liquid chromatography (HPLC). Terfezia claveryi rich in carbohydrates, proteins and low in fat. protein percentage was 17.64%. Terfezia claveryi contain twelve amino acids, nine phenolic compounds, Rutin, Gallic acid, Sinapic acids and Chlorogenic acid were 6479.035, 3737.48, 1263.303, 1151.521 μg/gm identified as the major phenolic compound respectively. The protein content is significantly higher than most vegetables, which can use as a well-balanced diet. Owing to rich amino acids and phenolic profile Terfezia claveryi can be considered as a source of therapeutic agents.

Subacute Toxicity of Brown Truffle (Terfezia claveryi) on Sprague-Dawley Rats

Brown truffle (Terfezia claveryi) is a wild fungi species collected and consumed by humans in Iraq, especially during the raining season, from February to April. However, the toxicological effects of this fungus have not been studied in humans. This study tested the subacute toxicity of brown truffle’s methanolic extract on a rat model. Daily oral doses of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg were administered to adult Sprague-Dawley rat groups of both sexes for 14 days. There were no behavioral changes, no alterations in body weight, organ weight, and body weight gain (p>0.05) in the treated rats, compared to the untreated control group. The hematological and serum biochemical parameters did not show significant (p>0.05) differences from the control. Microscopic examinations of the brain, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, and heart tissues revealed no pathological lesions in treated rats’ organs. These results imply that the administration of methanolic extract of T. claveryi to rats does not result in observable toxicity