Chemical composition and bioactivity of wild samples of Morchella esculenta from Portugal and Serbia.
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(FCT, Portugal)
and COMPETE/QREN/EU
(research project PTDC/AGRALI/110062/2009; bilateral
cooperation action Portugal/Serbia
2011; strategic projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011 and PEstC/QUI/UI0686/2011), and to Serbian
Ministry of Education and Science
(grant number 173032) for financial
support. S.A. Heleno (BD/70304/2010)
and L. Barros (BPD/4609/2008) also
thank FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE.
Mushrooms contain a huge diversity of biomolecules with
nutritional1 and/or bioactive properties.2 , 3 Morchella esculenta
(L.) Pers. (morel) is one of the most widely appreciated
wild edible mushrooms.
Herein, a comparative study on chemical composition (nutritional
value, primary and secondary metabolites), antioxidant
properties (scavenging activity, reducing power and inhibiPEsttion
of lipid peroxidation), and
antimicrobial activity (antibacterial
and demelanizing
properties) of two samples of
Mo r c h e l l a es c u l e n t a
(morel) from different countries
(Por tugal and Serbia) was
performed. This species was
chosen for being one of the most
highly prized edible mushrooms in
the world. Both samples are rich in
carbohydrates (including free
sugars) and proteins, and
c o n t a i n seve r a l bi o -
act ive compounds such
as organic acids, phenolic
compounds and tocopherols.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids were
the most abundant compounds
followed by mono or saturated fatty
acids. Sample from Portugal (SP)
gave higher radical scavenging
activity and reducing power, while
sample from Serbia (SS) showed
higher lipid peroxidation inhibition.
Both samples gave antibacterial
acti-vity against five
b a c t e r ia (in some
cases even bet ter than standard ant ibiot ics) and
demelanizing activity against
four micromycetes, showing SS
higher activities. As far as we know,
this is the first study reporting
chemical compounds and
bioactivity of morel samples from
Por tu g a l an d Ser b i a .
Furthermore, a novel method
f o r ev a l u a t i o n of
demelanizing activity was
presented.
