Antioxidant and antigenotoxicity activities of extracts from liquid submerged culture of culinary-Medicinal ferula oyster mushroom, pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél. var. ferulae (Lanzi) Sacc. (Agaricomycetideae)

The ferula oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii var. ferulae) is medicinal, edible, and delicious. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal conditions for the production of P. eryngii var. ferulae biomass in liquid submerged culture. Lyophilized mycelium was subjected to two water extracts and two elutes through column chromatography using methanol-ethyl acetate-dichloromethane (referred to as EAM and CHE, respectively). In addition, the crude protein and water-soluble polysaccharides were extracted from the cultured broth. Six samples were tested to explore their antigenotoxicity with the Ames test and a rec-assay, as well as antioxidant activities in in vivo and in vitro tests. EAM had the highest 2,2-diphenyL^-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity and ferric-reducing ability. Moreover, hamster serum showed the highest activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase after EAM was administered at a dose of 0.3 g kg ^-1 body weight daily among all tested samples. Meanwhile, the EAM group displayed significantly higher activities of the two enzymes than did the control group. In the antimutagenicity test, EAM exhibited the highest inhibition rate against every tested mutagen at a low concentration of 0.08 mg mL^-1 and a high concentration of 0.3 mg mL^-1 in each plate, and it also had the highest anti-DNA-damaging activity among all test samples. EAM displayed the highest antigenotoxicity effect, followed by CHE, when using water-insoluble extracts, and CP was the highest one, followed by water extract (100°C, 30 minutes), water extract (60°C, 30 minutes), and SPPF, when using water-soluble extracts. The major constituents of EAM and CHE were identified as ergosterol and 2-pentanol, respectively. Some extracts from P. eryngii var. ferulae have significant antioxidant activity and are strong antigenotoxic agents.