Cultivation of Ganoderma multipileum on Rubber Wood Sawdust and Coffee Grounds: Growth Performance and Bioactive Properties

Ganoderma multipileum is a tropical wood-decaying fungus with high capacity for crop waste disposal and promising medicinal properties. In this study, a Vietnamese strain of G. multipileum was identified through morphological characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. To enhance sustainable mushroom production, two cultivation substrates were compared: rubber tree sawdust by itself (control) and rubber tree sawdust supplemented with 25% coffee grounds. The coffee-supplemented substrate reduced the carbon/nitrogen ratio from 83.87:1 to 41.86:1, accelerated mycelial colonization from 28 to 22 days, and increased the mycelial growth rate from 6.53 to 7.59 mm/day. Ethanolic extracts from fruiting bodies grown on the supplemented substrate showed higher antibacterial activity against both methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus compared with the control. Antioxidant capacity, as measured by DPPH assay, was reduced in the supplemented treatment, with a higher IC₅₀ value (104.27 μg/mL) compared with the control (47.44 μg/mL). These findings highlight the potential of lignocellulolytic Ganoderma fungi in a circular economy for reducing agro-industrial waste byproducts like sawdust and coffee grounds. An additional benefit accrues because the use of such substrates enhances the cultivation efficiency and bioactive properties of G. multipileum, promoting its application in pharmaceutical and cosmetic production as well as waste reduction.