Purpose: To identify the chemical constituents of the n-hexane extract of the sclerotia of Lentinus tuber-regium (synonym Pleurotus tuber regium) using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic (GC-MS) techniques.

Methods: The n-hexane extract of the sclerotia of Lentinus tuber regium was obtained by exhaustive Soxhlet extraction and analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic (MS) techniques. The structures of the identified constituents were confirmed on the basis of their fragmentation pattern in comparison with that obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference library.

Results: Seven fatty acids derivatives: heptadecenal, n-hexadecanoic acid, 1-eicosene, linoleic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid ethyl ester, and octadecanoic acid, and five steroidal triterpenoids: cholesterol, α-ergostenol, anthraergostatetraenol, stigmasterol, and alpha-ergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one. The major constituents characterised are α-ergosta-4,6,8(14), 22-tetraen-3-one (8.56 %) > Anthraergostatetra-enol (7.19 %), > n-hexadecanoic acid (6.29 %) > linoleic acid (3.69 %).

Conclusion: This study shows that L tuber-regium is a veritable source of mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and ergosterol/provitamin D derivatives which may explain, in part, some of its reported nutraceutical benefits.