Cellulase, xylanase, lipase, and protease activities of selected wild  mushrooms from Slovenia

There are more than 3000 species of wild mushrooms in Slovenia. These wild mushrooms represent a promising source of bioactive compounds that can also be used as a source of novel enzymes, thus offering potential economic benefits for a wide range of industries and medicine. In this work, the cellulase, xylanase, protease, and lipase activities were measured in aqueous extracts of 64 Slovenian wild mushrooms of different lifestyles (symbiotic, saprobic, parasitic). We have shown that many of the mushroom extracts tested contain a variety of specific hydrolases. Of the 64 wild mushroom extracts, 16 showed cellulase, 24 xylanase, 30 lipase, and five protease activities. These are the first reports of these enzymatic activities for some of the mushrooms tested.