[Simple Omphalotus japonicus Identification Method for General Use]

Commonly available alternative methods for the simple identification of Omphalotus japonicus using a beam reagent (5 w/v% potassium hydroxide ethanolic solution) were investigated. As an alternative to the beam reagent used for both the direct and extraction methods, a 5 w/v% aqueous solution of sodium sesquicarbonate, a common ingredient used in household detergents, was demonstrated to be capable of identifying Omphalotus japonicus. Furthermore, the concentration of the extract solution of thelephoric acid, which is the coloring molecule, was the same in an 80% ethanol aqueous solution as it was in anhydrous ethanol. This equivalence suggests that ethanol, specified as a disinfectant in the Japanese pharmacopoeia, can be used as an extraction solvent. These findings suggest that identification equivalent to the conventional identification method can be achieved even when using commonly available sodium sesquicarbonate and disinfectant ethanol.