The Laboratory of edible fungi of ITAP, with more than 30 years of knowledge and expertise in the field of mushroom cultivation, supports the edible fungi research and production, as well as the training of scientists, students and farmers, providing them also technical assistance. LEF develops the last 20 years aspects related with the biotechnological valorization of agro-industrial residues and wastes through the cultivation of edible and medicinal fungi, in particular of new for the Greek market species, aiming at their incorporation to the regular mushroom production, along with improvement of their cultivation techniques. Particularly, the LEF works on the development of technologies concerning the production of fruit-bodies, metabolites and dietary-pharmaceutical products, e.g. mycelial mass, extra-cellular enzymes, extra- and intra-cellular polysaccharides and intra-cellular lipids in small-scale solid-state and submerged fermentations, using various edible and medicinal fungi. Process scale-up for the production of mushrooms and/or fungal biomass in semi-industrial level through valorization of several bio-resources and bio-wastes represents another interesting aspect for the LEF-ITAP scientific team. Moreover, LEF preserves a fungal culture collection comprising more than 140 edible and medicinal mushroom strains. Overall, participating at >20 research programs, the research of LEF has contributed significantly to the scientific community with >100 original articles in international scientific journals with referees and announcements on international conferences.
