Study on the scavenging and anti-Staphylococcus aureus activities of the extracts, fractions and subfractions of two Volvariella volvacea strains

Scavenging and anti-Staphylococcus aureus activities of extracts, fractions and subfractions from the in vitro mycelium of two strains of the edible mushroom Volvariella volvacea were determined. Chloroform subfractions of the ATCC62890 strain showed the highest inhibition percentage of the DPPH radical (over 80%) after 180 min. When chloroform and hexane subfractions of the R83 strain were combined they showed moderate (inhibition zone of 8.99 ± 0.78 mm) to high (inhibition zone of 13.06 ± 0.41 mm) activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, which are 74.4 and 51.2% of tetracycline (inhibition zone of 17.55 ± 0.11 mm). Partitioning suggested that the substances in the chloroform and hexane fractions of the R83 strain act synergistically to give the antimicrobial activity, while separating the substances of the ATCC62890 subfractions reduced their activity. In general, the R83 strain seems to be a source of antimicrobial substances, while the ATCC62890 strain appears to be an alternative source of antioxidants.