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Chemical Composition, Bioactive Compounds, and Antioxidant Activity of Two Wild Edible Mushrooms Armillaria mellea and Macrolepiota procera from Two Countries (Morocco and Portugal)

Summary

This study compared two edible wild mushrooms (honey fungus and parasol mushroom) from Morocco and Portugal to understand their health benefits. Both mushrooms were found to be rich in compounds with antioxidant properties that help protect cells from damage. The research shows that where mushrooms grow—whether in Morocco or Portugal—affects their chemical makeup and healing potential, with Moroccan honey fungus showing particularly strong antioxidant power.

Background

Wild edible mushrooms are known for their nutritional and medicinal properties, containing diverse biomolecules with biological activities. Armillaria mellea and Macrolepiota procera are consumed species with reported health benefits, but limited comparative studies exist between geographic regions, particularly from Morocco.

Objective

To investigate the chemical composition, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity of two wild edible mushrooms collected from Northern Morocco and Portugal to valorize Moroccan wild mushrooms and explore the effect of geographic and ecological conditions on their properties.

Results

Methanolic extracts showed strong antioxidant capacity with IC50 values of 1.06-1.32 mg/mL for DPPH radical scavenging and 0.09-0.53 mg/mL for β-carotene bleaching. A. mellea from Morocco showed highest antioxidant capacity. GC-MS analysis identified over 60 compounds with sugars as the most abundant group (48.93-62.90%), while LC-MS revealed vanillic acid and cinnamic acid as main phenolic compounds in A. mellea.

Conclusion

Geographic and climatic conditions significantly influence biomolecule composition and antioxidant properties of wild mushrooms. The results demonstrate that Moroccan A. mellea and M. procera possess substantial bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity comparable to or exceeding Portuguese samples, contributing to nutritional and pharmaceutical databases of consumed mushrooms.
  • Published in:Biomolecules,
  • Study Type:Comparative Analytical Study,
  • Source: PMID: 33920034, DOI: 10.3390/biom11040575
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