Fatih Kalyoncu

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of mycelia of 10 wild mushroom species.

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of mycelia obtained from 10 wild edible mushrooms-Armillaria mellea, Meripilus giganteus, Morchella costata, Morchella elata, Morchella esculenta var. vulgaris, Morchella hortensis, Morchella rotunda, Paxillus involutus, Pleurotus eryngii, and Pleurotus ostreatus-were investigated. For determination of antimicrobial activities of these mushrooms, ethanol extracts were examined with 11 test microorganisms by the agar well diffusion method. P. ostreatus and M. giganteus were the most active species against both bacteria and yeast. Antioxidant properties of ethanol extracts were studied by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging method. Among the mushroom extracts, M. elata showed the most potent radical scavenging activity. This research has shown that these 10 wild macrofungi have potential as natural antioxidants and antibiotics.

Fatty Acid Compositions of Six Wild Edible Mushroom Species

The fatty acids of six wild edible mushroom species (Boletus reticulatus, Flammulina velutipes var. velutipes, Lactarius salmonicolor, Pleurotus ostreatus, Polyporus squamosus, and Russula anthracina) collected from different regions from Anatolia were determined. The fatty acids were identified and quantified by gas chromatography and studied using fruit bodies. Fatty acid composition varied among species. The dominant fatty acid in fruit bodies of all mushrooms was cis-linoleic acid (18 : 2). Percentage of cis-linoleic acid in species varied from 22.39% to 65.29%. The other major fatty acids were, respectively, cis-oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Fatty acids analysis of the mushrooms showed that the unsaturated fatty acids were at higher concentrations than saturated fatty acids.

In vitro ectomycorrhizal specificity between the Asian red pine Pinus densiflora and Tricholoma matsutake and allied species from worldwide Pinaceae and Fagaceae forests

Tricholoma matsutake produces commercially valuable, yet uncultivable, mushrooms (matsutake) in association with pines in the Far East and Scandinavia and with both pines and oaks in the foothills of Tibet. Other matsutake mushrooms, such as Tricholoma anatolicum from the Mediterranean regions and Tricholoma magnivelare and Tricholoma sp. from the North Pacific Coast area of Canada and North America as well as Mexico, respectively, are associated with pines or oaks in their natural habitats. Tricholoma bakamatsutake and Tricholoma fulvocastaneum from Asia produce moderately valuable matsutake mushrooms and are solely associated with Fagaceae in nature. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that matsutake mushrooms from Scandinavia, Mediterranean regions, North America, and Tibet form ectomycorrhizae with Pinus densiflora similar to the Far East T. matsutake. In general, worldwide T. matsutake and the symbionts of Pinaceae colonize the rhizospheres of P. densiflora as well as T. matsutake isolated from the host plant. However, T. fulvocastaneum and T. bakamatsutake formed a discontinuous Hartig net and no Hartig net, respectively, and colonized to a lesser extent as compared to T. matsutake. The data suggest that conifer-associated matsutake mushrooms in their native habitat will associate symbiotically with the Asian red pine.

Relationship between airborne fungal allergens and meteorological factors in Manisa City, Turkey

In this study, the effect of relative humidity, temperature, and wind on airborne fungal allergens in the 11 different districts of Manisa City was investigated from January 2004 to December 2005. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey to get to know the relation between wind, temperature, and relative humidity and population of allergenic fungal spores in the atmosphere. A total of 792 samples were observed by using the Merck MAS100 air sampler and 12,988 fungal colonies were counted. Fourteen fungal genera could be determined; Cladosporium that was generally found as the predominant genus followed by Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Alternaria. During the entire study, seasonal variation was found to be related to atmospheric conditions especially. The optimal conditions of meteorological factors for the fungi growth resulted in the increased number of mycoflora, qualitatively and quantitatively.

Growth of mycelium of three ectomycorrhizal macrofungi, Infundibulicybe geotropa, Tricholoma anatolicum and Lactarius deliciosus in culture media containing various carbon sources

A comparative evaluation was conducted to assess the effects of different carbon sources on the mycelial growth of three species of ectomycorrhizal macrofungi; Infundibulicybe geotropa (Bull.) Harmaja, Tricholoma anatolicum H.H. Dogan & Intini and Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Gray. All carbon sources were found to be equally beneficial for mycelial growth. However, sucrose, glucose and arabinose were found to be better carbon source in solid culture for L. deliciosus, T. anatolicum and I. geotropa as the maximum biomass values in the liquid medium at the end of 56 days incubation period and were measured as 66.0, 43.0 and 97.0 mg, respectively.

Proximate composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of six wild edible celeries (Smyrnium L.)

In this study, proximate composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of six Smyrnium taxa, including, Smyrnium olusatrum , Smyrnium perfoliatum , Smyrnium rotundifolium , Smyrnium cordifolium, Smyrnium connatum and Smyrnium creticum (Umbelliferae) were determined. Antioxidant properties of methanol extracts were studied by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Among all the Smyrnium taxa, S. olusatrum showed the most potent radical scavenging activities. Antimicrobial activities of these taxa were studied using agar well diffusion method and S. perfoliatum showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity with inhibition zones ranging from 13 to 25 mm.