In-vitro antioxidant properties of different varieties of mushrooms grown on rice grains
PAVALAMALAR RAJALINGAM1, VIJAYAKUMAR MAYAKRISHNAN1, NOORLIDAH ABDULLAH1*, VIKINESWARY SABARATNAM1, UMAH RANI KUPPUSAMY2
*Corresponding author
1. Mushroom Research Centre, Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2. Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
The present study described the antioxidant properties and total phenolic content of mycelium of 20 mushrooms species selected from the families of Agricacea, Coprinaceae, Lentinacea and Trichlomataceae grown on rice grains. Antioxidant properties of the methanol extracts of these 20 mycelia were measured using, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, inhibition of lipid peroxidation reaction given in malondialdehyde assay (MDA) and total phenolic content (TPC). Among the 20 mushrooms extracts, L. squarrosulus showed the highest antioxidant activity (FRAP-1040.42 ± 66.64 µmol/g, MDA-1.32 ± 0.14 µmol/L), while the total phenolic content of L. squarrosulus 196.78 ± 5.99 DW mg/g. These results indicate that L. squarrosulus mushroom is indeed a potential source of antioxidative agents in the food industry.
INTRODUCTION
Antioxidants are substances that when present in foods or body at low concentrations compared with that of an oxidizable substrate markedly delay or prevent the oxidation of that substrate. Antioxidants may help the body to protect itself against various types of oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species, which are linked to a variety of diseases including cancer, vascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and ageing process (1). Antioxidants may act by decreasing oxygen concentration, intercepting singlet oxygen, preventing first chain initiation by scavenging the radicals, binding metal ion catalysts, decomposing primary products to non-radical compounds, and chain breaking to prevent continued hydrogen abstraction from substrates.
Mushrooms are being considered as nutritionally functional food as well as an impotent source of biologically active compounds of medicinal values. Apart from their nutritional perspective, they are also known to possess antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, cardiovascular, immunomodulatory, hypocholesterolemic and antiparasitic effects. These functional properties of mushrooms have been attribu ...
