Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Lactifluus vellereus

The consumption of cultivated or wild mushrooms has increased significantly in recent years This is because of their beneficial features, particularly their nutritional value and antioxidant capacity. Vitamins, fiber, protein, amino acids, and phenolic compounds are all abundant in mushrooms. Belonging to the family Russulaceae (Russulales), Lactifluus (Pers.) Roussel is a genus of milkcaps, which is predominantly represented in subtropical and tropical regions in the World. In this study it was aimed to determine the chemical composition (ash, total protein, total fat, and fatty acid composition), total amount of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capability and antimicrobial activity of Lactifluus vellereus (Fr.) Kuntze (1891) provided from Kastamonu, Türkiye. According to the existing literature, mushroom samples were identified based on their morphological characteristics. Dried mushroom samples were extracted with two different solvents, methanol and acetone, to determine antimicrobial activity against test microorganisms by disk diffusion method. The highest inhibition was recorded against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 strain with 16±0.81 mm zone diameter for acetone extract while it was 15.33±0.47 mm against Salmonella typhimurium SL1344 strain for methanol extract. The amount of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capability of L. vellereus were also determined using the methanol extract via Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent method and DPPH radical scavenging activity and potassium ferricyanide reducing antioxidant power (PFRAP) methods, respectively. The amount of total phenolic compounds was found as 3.58±0.12 mg GAE/g DW while DPPH scavenging activity and PFRAP values were 334.88±0.29 mg TE/g DW and 381.17±0.99 mg AAE/g DW, respectively. The ash, total protein and total fat content of L. vellereus were 8.47±0.17%, 20.48±0.07% and 2.28±0.04%, respectively. The fatty acid composition of the mushroom sample was also analyzed by GC-MS and oleic acid was found to be the predominant fatty acid with a concentration of 18.95% followed by elaidic acid (9.30%) and linoleic acid (5.81%). These findings indicated that L. vellereus should be considered a valuable source for its nutritional and therapeutic uses.