Metabolic Redox Modulation by Agaricus bisporus Aqueous Extract in Honey Bee Cells

The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is increasingly exposed to environmental stressors that affect redox homeostasis, leading to imbalances in cellular functions. Natural bioactive compound-based nutritional strategies show promise in reducing oxidative stress while preserving redox signaling. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition, cytotoxicity, and redox-modulating effects of an aqueous extract of the edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus on the AmE-711 honey bee cell line. High-resolution Orbitrap LC–MS analysis revealed a chemically diverse extract comprising polyols, organic acids, amino acids, phosphorylated sugars, nucleotide derivatives, phenolic, and lipid-related compounds. Among the identified metabolites were mannitol, malic acid, citric acid, glutamic acid, and uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine, providing a biochemical basis for potential metabolic and redox-related activity. Cell viability assays demonstrated that A. bisporus extract exhibited no significant cytotoxicity under the experimental conditions. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy with the TEMPONE spin probe showed that untreated cells exhibited only minimal signal reduction (4.20%), while treatment with the extract alone caused a moderate decrease (12.08%), indicating the absence of reductive stress. Oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide resulted in a pronounced TEMPONE signal reduction (37.88%), whereas co-treatment with the A. bisporus extract substantially attenuated this effect, lowering the signal reduction to 15.34%. These findings suggest that the aqueous A. bisporus extract may help preserve basal redox activity while attenuating peroxide-induced oxidative stress in AmE-711 honey bee cells. Rather than acting as a potent radical scavenger, the extract appears to function as a mild redox modulator or stabilizer under the tested conditions, which may be beneficial for honey bee cellular redox balance. These results support further investigation of physiologically appropriate A. bisporus-based dietary supplements for mitigating oxidative stress in apicultural systems.