CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF PHOLIOTA AURIVELLA (BATSCH) P. KUMM.

Objective: This study aims to determine the chemical composition of the mushroom Pholiota aurivella by investigating its antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antioxidant activities. The potential effects of the ethanol extract of the mushroom on a total of 27 different microorganisms, including strains with multidrug resistance (MDR), were examined. Additionally, the biofilm inhibition capacity and free radical scavenging activities of the mushroom extract were tested. Material and Method: The ethanol extract obtained from the P. aurivella sample was subjected to various tests to evaluate its biological activities. Antimicrobial activity was analyzed using disk diffusion and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests. Antibiofilm activity was assessed based on its capacity to inhibit biofilm formation, while antioxidant activity was tested using the DPPH method. The chemical composition was determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Result and Discussion: Our study reveals that P. aurivella is a promising natural agent, especially in terms of its antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. The extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against 16 different Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. Expanding zones of inhibition were observed with increasing extract amounts in strains such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter aerogenes, which show multidrug resistance (MDR). In biofilm inhibition tests, the strongest effects were observed in strains of Listeria innocua and Bacillus subtilis DSMZ 1971. On the other hand, the antioxidant activity tested by the DPPH method was quite low; this can be explained by the absence of phenolic compounds in the chemical composition of the extract. GC-MS analysis identified the major components as linoleic acid (59.20%) and ethyl linoleate (17.13%). These findings indicate that P. aurivella, with its antibiofilm and antimicrobial properties, has potential for pharmaceutical applications and may offer an important natural resource for developing treatment options even against MDR pathogens.