African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 5 (20), pp. 1924-1928, 16 October 2006   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Free-radical scavenging capacity and antimicrobial activity of wild edible mushroom from Turkey

Gezer k², Duru ME¹, Kivrak I¹, Turkoglu A²*, Mercan N³, Turkoglu H⁴ and Gulcan S³

¹Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, Mugla University, 48000, Mugla, Turkey.

²Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University, 20020, İncilipınar, Denizli, Turkey.

³Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Pamukkale University, 20017, Kinikli, Denizli, Turkey.

⁴Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Harran University, 63040, Sanliurfa, Turkey.

*Correspondingauthor E-mail: azizturkoglu@yahoo.com. Tel: +90 258 2125555.   Fax: +90 258 2125524

Accepted 28 September, 2006

Antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activities of Ramaria flava (Tourn: Battarra) Quél. (RF) extracts obtained with ethanol were investigated in this study. Four complementary test systems; namely DPPH free radical scavenging, β-carotene/linoleic acid systems, total phenolic compounds and total flavonoid concentration have been used. Inhibition values of R. flava extracts, BHA and α-tocopherol standards were found to be 94.7, 98.9 and 99.2%, respectively, at 160µg/ml. When compared the inhibition levels of ethanol extract of R. flava and standards in linoleic acid system, it was observed that the higher the concentration of both RF ethanol extract and the standards the higher the inhibition effect. Total flavonoid amount was 8.27±0.28 µg mg^-1 quercetin equivalent while the total phenolic compound amount was 39.83±0.32 µg mg^-1 pyrocatechol equivalent in the ethanolic extract. The ethanol extract of R. flava inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria better than Gram-negative bacteria and yeast. The crude extract showed no antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Morganella morganii and Proteus vulgaris. The antimicrobial activity profile of R. flava against tested strains indicated that Micrococcus flavus, Micrococcus luteus and Yersinia enterocolitica was the most susceptible bacteria of all the test strains. R. flava was found to be inactive against Candida albicans.

Key words: Ramaria flava, mushroom, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, DPPH.