Evaluation of in vitro antioxidant activity of edible Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi

Introduction: Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi have been known for their nutritional values they can be considered as functional foods which can provide health benefits beyond the traditional nutrients. They are the excellent source of natural antioxidants because some synthetic antioxidants are now suspected to be potentially harmful to human health. As free radicals can cause inflammatory diseases, cancer, atherosclerosis, and aging, Consuming dietary antioxidant supplements can inhibit oxidative chain reactions. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant potential of the basidiomycetes mushroom fungal strains was established by total flavonoid content, FRAP assay, ABTS assay, Metal chelating activity, Phosphomolybdenum assay, Assay of superoxide radical scavenging activity, Free radical scavenging activity on DPPH along with the determination of total phenolic and tannin contents in the mushroom mycelial extracts. Results: Different Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi extracts (Hot water, Acetone and Hexane) were tested for antioxidant activities. Among these different extracts of Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi the hexane extract of Pleurotus pulmonarius showed potential antioxidant activity. Discusion and Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the possibility of using Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi as a natural antioxidant source for the pharmaceutical industry and could act as safe and cost-effective with potential antioxidant activities. These findings encourage studying these fungal strains further for their potential biological applications. Keywords: Flavonoid, Tannin, FRAP, ABTS, DPPH and Free Radical