Antioxidative, Antimicrobial Activities and Fatty Acid Compositions of Four Agarics

The edible mushrooms are valued by people because they possess a large variety of secondary metabolites with diverse beneficial effects on human health. The Agaricales order is one of the largest taxon in fungal systematics represented by a number of edible species in Türkiye. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, as well as the fatty acid composition, of four Agarics (Agaricus bitorquis, Coprinopsis atramentaria, Coprinellus micaceus, and Leucoagaricus leucothites) collected from Nigde Province, Türkiye. The antioxidant capability was determined using DPPH assay and the total phenolic content was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu’s phenol reagent technique. Among the four species, A. bitorquis showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (84.259±1.32%) and total phenolic content (1472.21±10.35µg GAE/mL). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was performed for the analysis and characterization of the fatty acid compositions. Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid detected in all four species, with percentages ranging from 23.58% to 42.96%. The antimicrobial activity of the mushroom extracts was assessed using the disc diffusion method, and the ethanol extract of C. atramentaria showed the most significant effect on E. coli with a 29±0.6 mm inhibition zone diameter.