Fresh white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and shiitake mushroom (Lentinulaedodes) are globally treasured natural bounties especially in oriental cultures particularlyin China and Japan due to their high nutritional value. Consumption of fresh white buttonand shiitake mushrooms is increasing day by day in China and in rest of the world.However both white button mushroom and shiitake mushroom are highly perishable andhave a very short shelf life. Cultivation of button and shiitake mushrooms is confined to afew particular geographical areas within China and elsewhere. Mostly transportation overlarge distances is required before reaching the destined consumer market. So, themaintenance of post harvest quality of button and shiitake mushrooms is major concem Over the years numerous strategies have been incorporated into the production andmarketing chain in order to extend the shelf life of button and shiitake mushrooms.However, many of these studies discussed only colour as determining factor of postharvest quality of button and shiitake mushrooms and provided limited information aboutthe effects on biochemical quality markers associated with quality, including changes inantioxidant components of button and shiitake mushrooms. Experiments were conducted in laboratory of College of Biosystem Engineering andFood Sciences, Huajiachi Campus, Zhejiang University Hangzhou and in field at acommercial mushroom growing farm in Yuhang County near Hangzhou China duringyear 2007-2010 for post harvest quality enhancement of button and shiitake mushroomsusing pre and post harvest application of polyamine spermine, methyl jasmonate andthrough development of methyl jasmonate enriched sodium alginate coatings. Salientfindings of the study are discussed as under. (1) Polyamine spermine maintains antioxidant properties and increases shelf life of slicedbutton mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) during storage. Exogenous application of polyamine spermine as dipping treatment at various levels (0,0.1, 1 and 2 mM) as a potential tool for button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) shelf lifeextension was investigated. Colour changes, protein levels, phenolics, flavonoids, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH), reducing power,Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Peroxidase (POD) and Malondialdehyde(MDA) activities were evaluated as quality markers. Spermine treatment effectivelydelayed discoloration and the increase in activities of peroxidase and accumulation ofmalondialdehyde during storage. Additionally spermine maintained higher levels ofprotein superoxide dismutase, catalase, phenolics, flavonoids and exhibited betterantioxidant properties (as depicted by lower ECso values for DPPH and reducing power)as compared to control. Ultra structural studies further revealed higher incidence ofcrystalline phenolic compounds in spermine treated mushrooms. Our results suggest thatpolyamine spermine can serve the dual purpose of shelf life extension and maintenanceof antioxidant properties of sliced button mushroom during storage. (2) Pre harvest spray application of polyamine spermine affects post harvest biochemicaland nutritional quality of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). This study investigated the effect of pre harvest spray application of aqueous solutions ofpolyamine spermine at different levels (0, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mM) at a commercialmushroom growing farm as a possible strategy for post harvest biochemical andnutritional quality maintenance of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). Changes incolour, protein contents, total phenolics, total flavonoids, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazylradical scavenging activity (DPPH), reducing power, Superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC1.15.1.1), Catalase (CAT; 1.11.1.6), Peroxidase (POD; EC l.11.1.7), Malondialdehyde(MDA), O2- and H2O2 activities were taken into account as potential biochemical andnutritional quality attributes. As compared to control, pre harvest spray application ofpolyamine spermine resulted in not only initial colour improvement, higher proteincontents, better antioxidant properties (as manifested by higher levels of total phenolics,total flavonoids and lower ECso values for DPPH and reducing power) and higheractivities of SOD and CAT, but also maintained their higher levels during subsequentstorage. Moreover, pre harvest spray application of polyamine spermine was effective indelaying the increase in activities of POD, MDA, O2-and H2O2 during storage. Ourresults suggest that pre harvest spray application of polyamine spermine at IMmconcentration can serve as promising tool for maintenance of quality of button mushroomduring post harvest storage. (3) Methyl jasmonate enhances post harvest physiochemical and microbial quality ofbutton mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). This study investigated dipping treatment of aqueous solutions of methyl jasmonate (MJ)at different levels (0, 0.5, and 1 mM) as a possible scheme for post harvest buttonmushroom (Agaricus bisporus) quality enhancement during storage. Changes in colour,total soluble protein contents, polyphenol oxidase, (PPO, EC l.10.3.1), peroxidase (POD,EC l.11.1.7), malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, H2O2, and O2- activities andmicroorganisms such as aerobic mesophiles, psychrotrophs, pseudomonas spp., and yeastand molds were studied as quality markers. As compared to control, methyl jasmonateresulted in better colour maintenance during storage by decreasing the activities of PPOand POD and also reduced the accumulation of MDA, H2O2 and O2 - during subsequentstorage. Moreover, methyl jasmonate significantly reduced the microbial loads ascompared to control. Our results suggest that exogenous application of methyljasmonateat 0.5 mM concentration as dipping treatment can serve as promising tool for qualityenhancement of button mushroom during storage. (4) Post harvest quality enhancement of shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes) throughmethyl jasmonate enriched alginate coatings This study investigated the effect of methyl jasmonate enriched alginate coatings on postharvest storage quality enhancement of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) duringstorage. Treatments applied were (1) Control (uncoated, water dipping) (2) 1％ Alginate(AL) (3) 1％ Alginate (AL) + 0.5 mM methyljasmonate (lVLD and (4) 1％ Alginate (AL)+ 1 mM methyl jasmonate(MJ) Changes in colour, total soluble protein contents,firmness, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide anion (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2),total phenolics, total flavonoids, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), ascorbate peroxidase (APX),glutathione reductase (GR), reduced glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate contents (ASC)and changes in the microbial profiles consisting of pseudomonas spp., mesophiles,psychrotrophs, and yeast and molds counts were quantified as quality markers. Methyljasmonate enriched alginate coatings effectively maintained better colour, retarded loss oftotal soluble protein contents, maintained better firmness, reduced the accumulation ofMDA, O2- and H2O2 contents. Better retained total phenolics and total flavonoidscontents, reduced the PPO activity, better maintained the activities of APX and GR,better retained GSH and ASC contents and reduced microbial populations ofpseudomonas spp., mesophiles, psychrotrophs, and yeast and molds, as compared touncoated shiitake mushrooms. We recommend the use of 1％ Alginate (AL) + 0.5 mMmethyl jasmonate (MJ) enriched edible coating as a promising technique for post harveststorage quality enhancement of shiitake mushrooms.