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Abstract
The biochemical adaptations of fungi to the harsh conditions of the Arctic may mean that these organisms have properties useful to people. Using samples of the puffball mushroom Lycoperdon molle Pers. (Basidiomycota, Fungi) collected at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, we examined the in vitro antioxidant potential of this species by investigating its free-radical scavenging (FRS) activity, inhibition of lipid peroxidation (ILP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). The FRS activity of the samples in various organic solvents, including methanol, ethanol, acetone and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), were found to be in the range of 44.00–89.60%, while ILP activities ranged from 32.00 to 54.41%. The methanol extract showed the highest levels of FRS (89.60%) and ILP (54.41%) compared to standard antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisol and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The TEAC value was also found to be higher compared to the standard water soluble vitamin E analogue Trolox (3.9 mM). Antimicrobial screening of Lycoperdon molle extracts was negative to the tested microorganisms. Using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), we determined that the samples contained compounds such as phosphoethanolamine, monomethyl arsenic acid, phosphatidyl glycerol, phosphoionositol, phosphoserine and lysophosphatidyl choline. We found that Lycoperdon molle showed strong antioxidant abilities compared to the standards, suggesting that this and perhaps other Arctic mushrooms could be valuable sources of natural antioxidants for the pharmaceutical industry. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the antioxidant activity in any Arctic mushroom.
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to Professor K. E. Raman, director of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Dr S. R. Shetye, director of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and Dr Rasik Ravindra, director of the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research for facilities. PS is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, for financial support. We are also grateful to the Ministry of Earth Sciences for support. Thanks are due to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions that improved the quality of manuscript. This publication is DST contribution no. SR/WOS-A/LS-68/2009 and NIO contribution no. 4951.