Authors : V. S. Wadhai Prerna Durgesh Gadpelliwar and Natasha U. Sheikh
Page Nos : 28-41
Description :
Mushrooms are increasingly valued as functional foods owing to their diverse repertoire of bioactive constituents,
notably polyphenols, flavonoids, and polysaccharides, which collectively impart notable free radical neutralizing
capacity. The present investigation was designed to systematically evaluate and compare the antioxidant profiles of
three widely cultivated edible mushroom species — Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus bisporus, and Pleurotus sajor-caju —
in both unprocessed and thermally processed forms, employing multiple standard in vitro analytical platforms.
Methanolic, ethanolic, and aqueous extracts of each species were prepared and subjected to DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-
picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay, ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical
cation decolorization assay, Total Phenolic Content (TPC) quantification via the Folin–Ciocalteu procedure, and Total
Flavonoid Content (TFC) estimation by the aluminium chloride colorimetric approach. Methanolic fractions yielded the
highest antioxidant activity across all tested species without exception. In unprocessed samples, DPPH radical
neutralization approached approximately 85% in all three species under methanol extraction. Thermal treatment
induced a statistically significant decline (p < 0.01) in DPPH activity, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content
in the majority of extracts; however, ABTS activity displayed variable trends contingent upon the species and solvent
employed. Collectively, these data validate edible mushrooms as rich reservoirs of dietary antioxidants, with solvent
selection, interspecies variation, and heat exposure each exerting distinct and measurable effects on the final
antioxidant profile.
