Portuguese team reveals that the roots of wild mushrooms may be an important source of bioactive antioxidant compounds.
In that previous studies of mushroom extracts have suggested that fungi possess high oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values, Filipa S. Reis, from the Mountain Research Centre (CIMO-ESA; Portugal), and colleagues analyzed both the fruiting bodies and the roots of various anaerobic wild mushrooms, to ascertain the respective antioxidant capacities. The team found that wild fungi mycelia (the branching roots and vegetation) possessed higher levels of total tocopherols, as compared to the mushrooms’ fruiting bodies. They reported that in particular, Pisolithus arhizus mycelium was found “to be a powerful source of gamma-tocopherol” – suggesting potent scavenging effects on free radicals and inhibition of lipid peroxidation capacity.
