MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Free Radical Scavenging and Antimicrobial Properties of Extracts of Wild Mushrooms

Summary

This research examined the potential health benefits of four wild mushroom species from Nigeria. The study found these mushrooms contain compounds that can fight harmful free radicals and inhibit the growth of various microorganisms. This has important implications for human health and medicine. Impacts on everyday life: – Could lead to new natural preservatives for food products – May provide alternatives to synthetic antioxidants in health supplements – Potential source of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections – Highlights the importance of preserving wild mushroom species – Could contribute to development of natural medicines

Background

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in finding natural bioactive compounds that can serve as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. This is driven by growing understanding of the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), concerns about synthetic antioxidants like BHA and BHT, and increasing antimicrobial resistance. Mushroom extracts have gained attention due to their safety profile and health-promoting properties.

Objective

To investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of extracts obtained from four wild mushrooms collected in Nigeria: Termitomyces clypeatus (TCE), Termitomyces robustus (TRE), Lentinus subnudus (LSE) and Lenzites species (LZE).

Results

LSE and LZE showed good scavenging activity against DPPH and ferrous ion radicals at 2 mg/mL concentration. TRE and TCE exhibited better superoxide anion scavenging effects. All extracts had comparable hydroxyl radical scavenging effects to the BHT control. The extracts inhibited growth of all test microorganisms at concentrations between 12.5-100 mg/mL, with LSE and LZE showing stronger antimicrobial effects.

Conclusion

The extracts from these four wild mushrooms demonstrated effective antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, suggesting they could serve as sources of new bioactive compounds. LSE and LZE particularly showed promising results in both antioxidant and antimicrobial assays.
  • Published in:Brazilian Journal of Microbiology,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research,
  • Source: 10.1590/S1517-838220090002000031
Scroll to Top