Mustafa Yamaç

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of four edible mushrooms from the Central Anatolia, Eskisehir - Turkey: Lactarius deterrimus, Suillus collitinus, Boletus edulis, Xerocomus chrysenteron.

The methanolic extracts of Lactarius deterrimus, Suillus collitinus, Boletus edulis, Xerocomus chrysenteron were analyzed for their antioxidant activities in different test systems namely beta-carotene/linoleic acid, DPPH free radical scavenging, reducing power and metal chelating activities in addition to their total phenolic and flavonoid contents. In beta-carotene/linoleic acid and DPPH systems, L. deterrimus and B. edulis showed the strongest activity patterns. Their activities were as strong as the positive controls. The reducing power of the species was excellent. Chelating capacity of the extracts was increased with the increasing concentration. On the other hand, B. edulis found to have the highest phenolic content. Total flavonoid content of S. collitinus found the superior to the other mushrooms.

Antimicrobial Activities of Fruit Bodies and/or Mycelial Cultures of Some Mushroom Isolates

Abstract In this study, we have investigated the antimicrobial activities of intracellular and/or extracellular metabolites of some mushrooms such as Amanita caesarae. (Scop.: Fr.) Pers., Armillaria mellea. (Vahl) P. Kumm., Chroogomphus rutilus. (Schaeff.) O.K. Mill., Clavariadelphus truncatus. (Quel.) Donk., Clitocybe geotropa. (Bull.) Quél., Ganoderma. sp., Ganoderma carnosum. Pat., Hydnum repandum. L., Hygrophorus agathosmus. (Fr.) Fr., Lenzites betulina. (L.) Fr., Lepista nuda. (Bull.) Cooke, Leucoagaricus pudicus. (Bull.) Bon, Paxillus involutus. (Batsch) Fr., Polyporus arcularius. (Batsch) Fr., Rhizopogon roseolus. (Corda) Th.Fr., Sarcodon imbricatus. (L.) P. Karst., Suillus collitinus. (Fr.) O. Kuntze., Trametes versicolor. (L.) Lloyd, Tricholoma auratum. (Paulet) Gillet, and Tricholoma fracticum. (Britzelm.) Kreisel. Antimicrobial activities of these mushroom extracts were examined on test microorganisms Escherichia coli. ATCC 25922, Enterobacter aerogenes. NRRL-B-3567, Salmonella typhimurium. NRRL-B-4440, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus. ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis. NRRL-B-4377, Bacillus subtilis. NRRL-B-558, Candida albicans. ATCC 10259, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. NRRL-Y-2034 by the disk diffusion and microdilution methods. The chloroform extract of Hygrophorus agathosmus. and the dichloromethane extract of Suillus collitinus. were the most active extracts against both yeast and bacteria. MIC values of these extracts were detected between 7.81 and 250 μg/mL for Hygrophorus agathosmus. and between 31.25 and 250 μg/mL for Suillus collitinus.. Antimicrobial activity was mostly static. Substances responsible for the antimicrobial activity were heat-stable.

New fungal biomasses for cyanide biodegradation

Cyanide, a hazardous substance, is released into the environment as a result of natural processes of various industrial activities which is a toxic pollutant according to Environmental Protection Agency. In nature, some microorganisms are responsible for the degradation of cyanide, but there is only limited information about the degradation characteristics of Basidiomycetes for cyanide. The aim of the present study is to determine cyanide degradation characteristics in some Basidiomycetes strains including Polyporus arcularius (T 438), Schizophyllum commune (T 701), Clavariadelphus truncatus (T 192), Pleurotus eryngii (M 102), Ganoderma applanatum (M 105), Trametes versicolor (D 22), Cerrena unicolor (D 30), Schizophyllum commune (D 35) and Ganoderma lucidum (D 33). The cyanide degradation activities of P. arcularius S. commune and G. lucidum were found to be more than that of the other fungi examined. The parameters including incubation time, amount of biomass, initial cyanide concentration, temperature, pH and agitation rate were optimized for the selected three potential fungal strains. The maximum cyanide degradation was obtained after 48 h of incubation at 30°C by P. arcularius (T 438). The optimum pH and agitation rate were measured as 10.5 and 150 rev/min, respectively. The amount of biomass was found as 3.0 g for the maximum cyanide biodegradation with an initial cyanide concentration of 100mg/L. In this study, agar was chosen entrapment agent for the immobilization of effective biomass. We suggested that P. arcularius (T 438) could be effective in the treatment of contaminated sites with cyanide due to capability of degrading cyanide.

Hypoglycemic effect of Lentinus strigosus (Schwein.) Fr. crude exopolysaccharide in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

ABSTRACT This study reports the hypoglycemic effects of the crude exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced from submerged mycelial culture of Lentinus strigosus (Schwein.) Fr. (Family Polyporaceae) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. In a dose-dependent study, diabetic rats were treated with EPS at doses of 50-150 mg/kg of body weight for 7 days. Serum glucose and plasma insulin levels were measured in normal, STZ-induced diabetic, and EPS-treated diabetic rats. Following oral administration of EPS dosages for 7 days, the serum glucose levels in the STZ-induced diabetic rats were reduced up to 21.1% at the dose of 150 mg/kg of body weight. The results revealed that orally administered L. strigosus EPS, at the dose of 150 mg/kg, exhibited a considerable hypoglycemic effect in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Plasma insulin levels of STZ-induced diabetic rats decreased as compared to control group rats (P < .05). Although insulin levels slightly increased in the EPS-treated groups the increase was not statistically significant. The hypoglycemic potential of the EPS was further supported by histological observations of pancreatic islets of Langerhans.

Biosorption Potential of the Macrofungus Ganoderma carnosum for Removal of Lead(II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions

This paper reports the utilization of a macro-fungus Ganoderma carnosum as a biosorbent material for the removal of lead(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The biosorption potential of G. carnosum was investigated by batch experiments. The influences of physico-chemical parameters like pH, biosorbent dosage, contact time and initial metal ion concentration were evaluated. The biosorption equilibrium was attained in 10 minutes. Equilibrium biosorption data were analyzed by the Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherm models. Maximum biosorption capacity of biosorbent was found to be 22.79 mg g− 1 (1.10 × 10− 4 mol g− 1) at the pH value of 5.0. The biosorbent was regenerated using 10 mM HCl solution, with up to 96% recovery, and reused four times in biosorption-desorption cycles successively. Biosorption efficiency of G. carnosum was also examined in a real effluent. The mechanism of the biosorption was investigated with FTIR, SEM and EDAX analysis and the findings suggested that the biosorption process involved in ion exchange as dominant mechanism as well as complexation. The ion exchange mechanism was also confirmed by the mean free energy value obtained from D–R isotherm model.

Hypoglycemic effect of crude exopolysaccharides produced by Cerrena unicolor, Coprinus comatus, and Lenzites betulina isolates in streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic activity of crude exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by three mushroom isolates in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The three experimental groups were fed EPS of Cerrena unicolor (Bull.) Murrill (Polyporaceae), Coprinus comatus (O.F. Müll.) Pers. (Agaricaceae), and Lenzites betulina (L.) Fr. (Polyporaceae) for 7 days. The serum glucose levels significantly decreased after oral administration of EPS by 61.23% with Cerrena unicolor, 42.78% with Coprinus comatus, and 42.08% with Lenzites betulina. According to histological observations based on staining in pancreatic tissues, Langerhans islet areas and cell numbers of diabetic animals increased in response to EPS treatment. In conclusion, our findings clearly suggest that exopolysaccharides produced by three mushroom isolates decreased blood glucose levels in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Therefore, the studied mushroom exopolysaccharides might be developed as potential oral hypoglycemic agents in the control of diabetes mellitus. This is the first attempted in vivo study using exopolysaccharides of local mushroom isolates for medicinal purpose in Turkey.

Consumption of Coprinus comatus polysaccharide extract causes recovery of alcoholic liver damage in rats

Abstract Context: Excess use of alcohol is known to be associated with liver diseases such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. Various practices may be applied to prevent or treat the damage caused by chronic alcoholism. Coprinus comatus (O.F. Müll.) Pers. (Agaricaceae) is a macrofungus that has been reported to aid the recovery of murine livers damaged by benzopyrene. Objective: In this study, the possible therapeutic effects of three different doses (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg) of C. comatus polysaccharide (PS) extract were studied in rats subjected to an alcoholic diet. The histological and biochemical results were compared between the control and experimental groups. Materials and methods: Modified Lieber–Decarli’s calorie-adjusted liquid alcohol diet was given orally for 60 d. In addition to histopathology, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), mitochondrial membrane integrity, total cytochrome-c oxidase activity (TotalStCox), total mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase activity (TotalMtStCox), and caspase-3 values were used as liver parameters, and liver sections from all experimental groups were examined by electron microscopy. Results: Using histopathological assessment, it was observed that there was a decline in liver hepatocyte vacuolization in the treatment group fed 50 mg PS/kg. The TotalStCox and TotalMtStCox values of this group differed from the EtOH control group (p < 0.05). Discussion and conclusion: Daily administration of 50 mg/kg of C. comatus PS extract considerably reduced the negative effects of alcohol on liver structure and function.

Effects of polysaccharide from fruiting bodies of Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus brasiliensis, and Phellinus linteus on alcoholic liver injury

Abstract In the present study, the curative effects of crude polysaccharides (PSs) from mushrooms on the symptoms of alcoholic liver injury were investigated. PSs from Agaricus bisporus, Agaricus brasiliensis, and Phellinus linteus fruiting bodies were administered by gavage at levels of 100 mg per kg body weight per day for 7 d after the onset of the disease. The caspase-3 activity, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial outer membrane integrity of the liver tissues of sacrificed rats, and the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were determined. In addition, light and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies were performed for histopathological and cytological evaluations on liver sections. PSs from A. brasiliensis decreased ALT level and mitochondrial membrane potential and increased the outer membrane integrity; microscopic examinations also revealed normal hepatocytes and tissue. On the basis of our data, it can be argued that crude PSs from Agaricus brasiliensis have therapeutic potential for alcoholic liver injury.

Effects of Black Hoof Medicinal Mushroom, Phellinus linteus (Agaricomycetes), Polysaccharide Extract in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

In this article we report the healing effects of a Phellinus linteus fruiting body hot water extract (PLE) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. PLE was given before and after STZ. The preprotective, protective, and postprotective effects of PLE on STZ-induced oxidative stress were studied using biochemical (caspase 3 activity, cytosolic-to-lysosomal ratio of cathepsin B and L, DNA fragmentation levels), ordinary histological and immuno-histochemical investigation parameters. Following oral administration of PLE after STZ application, the serum glucose concentration significantly decreased up to 41.13% compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The hypoglycemic potential of the PLE was further supported by an increase of insulin secretion in the islets of Langerhans. In addition, the number of cells in Langerhans islets increased by 45.89% when PLE was given after STZ application. On the other hand, the use of PLE before oxidative stress could not prevent the onset of diabetes. This is, to our knowledge, the first study of the effect of application time of orally administered Ph. Linteus hot water extract on STZ-induced diabetes.

Statistical optimization of lovastatin production by Omphalotus olearius (DC.) singer in submerged fermentation

ABSTRACT In this study, culture conditions were optimized to improve lovastatin production by Omphalotus olearius, isolate OBCC 2002, using statistical experimental designs. The Plackett–Burman design was used to select important variables affecting lovastatin production. Accordingly, glucose, peptone, and agitation speed were determined as the variables that have influence on lovastatin production. In a further experiment, these variables were optimized with a Box–Behnken design and applied in a submerged process; this resulted in 12.51 mg/L lovastatin production on a medium containing glucose (10 g/L), peptone (5 g/L), thiamine (1 mg/L), and NaCl (0.4 g/L) under static conditions. This level of lovastatin production is eight times higher than that produced under unoptimized media and growth conditions by Omphalotus olearius. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to optimize submerged fermentation process for lovastatin production by Omphalotus olearius.