Antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and protective effects of truffles

Isolation and Characterization of Compounds from Truffle Melanogaster broomenaus and their Bioactivities

Melanogaster broomeanus Berk. is a type of truffle common in pine, oak, and hazelnut forests and which naturally spreads in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, South-West Anatolia in Turkey, is consumed as food and traded. Chemical investigation of M. broomenaus led to isolate of ten known compounds namely, brassicasterol (1), ergosterol (2), ergosterol peroxide (3), 5α, 6α-epoxy ergosta-7,22-diene-3β-ol (4), trametenolic acid (5), maleic acid (6), fumaric acid (7), mannitol (8), kojibiose (9) and trehalose (10). Assessments of the antioxidant, anticholinesterase, anti-urease, and cytotoxic properties of extracts and isolated compounds were carried out. Compound 5 showed the highest cytotoxic activity against H-1299 with IC50: 23.78±0.98 μg/mL, while compound 2 demonstrated most potent cytotoxicity against MCF-7 with IC50: 30.91±0.15 μg/ml. Also, compound 5 showed the highest antioxidant activity in all methods, particularly in DPPH and ABTS assays with IC50 values of 90.24±0.87, 75.41±0.10 μg/mL, respectively. Similarly, compound 5 exhibited highest activity with 38.84±1.22 % and 44.58±0.96 % inhibitions against AChE and BChE, respectively, while compound 7 were found to be most potent inhibitory against urease with value of 55.20±0.45 % at 100 μg/mL concentration. These findings suggest that M. broomenaus, like numerous other edible mushrooms, is a steroid-rich truffle and a potential source of steroids.

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Extracts of Saudi Arabian Desert Terfezia claveryi Truffles

Background

Terfezia claveryi truffles are known for their nutritional value and have been considered among traditional treatments for ophthalmic infections and ailments.

Objectives

We sought to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of several T. claveryi extracts from Saudi Arabia. Certain pathogenic fungi and gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria were included.

Methods

Dry extracts were prepared using methanol, ethyl acetate, and distilled water, while the latter was used for preparing fresh extracts. The extracts were microbiologically evaluated through the disc-diffusion agar method; the zones of inhibition of microbial growth were measured post-incubation. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were determined in Müller-Hinton Broth through the microdilution susceptibility method. anti-biofilm activity was assessed for potent extracts.

Results

Dry extracts showed potent activity (>16-mm inhibition zones) against gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis IFO3007 and Staphylococcus aureus IFO3060) and gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa IFO3448 and Escherichia coli IFO3301) bacteria. The activity against fungi was moderate (12–16-mm inhibition zones) for both Aspergillus oryzae IFO4177 and Candida albicans IFO0583; there was no activity against Aspergillus niger IFO4414 growth. Methanolic extract had the lowest MIC and MBC, exhibiting remarkable activity against B. subtilis growth. Fresh extract showed moderate activity against bacterial growth and inactivity against fungal growth. Methanolic extract showed potent anti-biofilm activity (IC₅₀, 2.0 ± 0.18 mg/mL) against S. aureus.

Conclusions

T. claveryi extracts showed antibacterial effects potentially suitable for clinical application, which warrants further in-depth analysis of their individual isolated compounds.