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Tanzania natural forests harbor several indigenous edible mushrooms that are meagerly
exploited due to various reasons including unawareness on their potential values. This study establishes
antioxidant potentials of seven wild edible mushroom species, and their two domesticated forms. The
investigation used mushroom methanolic extract for antioxidant activities’ determination. A DPPH
(1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical was used as a substrate to determine radical scavenging
abilities whereas ferrozine was employed to determine ferrous ion chelating abilities. Additionally,
quantitative analyses for β-carotene, lycopene, flavonoids, and total phenolic compounds were done
using spectrophotometric assay. Mushrooms analysed displayed amazing antioxidant potentials which
varied between different species and between the wild and domesticated forms of the same species. The
range of EC50 values for DPPH free radical scavenging activity (DRSA) was . . mg m , with
the strongest and weakest EC50 recorded from P. tenuiculus and the wild Amylosporus sp. IJ-2014,
respectively. The range of EC50 values for ferrous ion chelating activity (FICA) was . .
mg/mL, with the strongest and weakest EC50 noted in domesticated Amylosporus sp. IJ-2014 and
L. sajor-caju, correspondingly. The maximum and minimum total phenolic content (TPC) recorded
were 537.39 and 160.97 mg GAE/100g, from domesticated Amylosporus sp. IJ-2014 and Laetiporus
sp. IJ-2014, respectively. The highest and least quantities of β-carotene (BC) recorded were 48.59 and
5.56 mg/100g, from P. tenuiculus/wild Amylosporus sp. IJ-2014 and P. cystidiosus, respectively.
Lycopene contents (LC) ranged from 2.24 to 18.95 mg/100g, with P. cystidiosus and P. tenuiculus
having the slightest and peak values, correspondingly. Maximum value for total flavonoid contents
(TFl) recorded was 25.27 mg QE/100g from P. tenuiculus whereas the minimum value was 3.71 mg
QE/100g from P. cystidiosus. Due to the antioxidant potentials of these mushrooms, people are advised
to maximally exploit them for improved nutrition and health. |
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