Full Length Research Paper

Comparitive study on the antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial property of Agaricus bisporus (J. E. Lange) Imbach before and after boiling

Loganathan K. Jagadish¹*,   V. Venkata krishnan², R. Shenbhagaraman¹, and V. Kaviyarasan¹

¹University of Madras, Center for Advanced Studies in Botany, Chennai, India.

²Anna University, Center for Biotechnology, Chennai, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: jkl_phd@yahoo.co.in, manikavi53@gmail.com. Tel: + 91 9884410966/ Fax: 044-22352494.

Accepted 5 January, 2009

In this study, ethanol extracts of an edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus, before and after boiling were investigated for antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities. To confirm the total antioxidant activity, ABTS, DPPH free radical-scavenging assay was carried, along with total phenolic and flavonoid concentration. In measuring ABTS and DPPH free radical scavenging activities, scavenging activity was found to be similar in both the extracts. Total flavonoids were 16.4±0.5 and 15.2±0.2 mg/g (Quercetin equivalent), the phenolics were 90.2±0.6 and 70.6±0.1 mg/g (Catechin equivalent) in raw and boiled extract, respectively. A. bisporus extracts inhibited cell proliferation of HL-60 leukemia by the induction of apoptosis. In addition, A. bisporus extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria, as well as anticandidal activity against Candida albicans.  Therefore, A. bisporus could be considered as a functional food with antimicrobial, anti-oxidative and antiproliferative activity.

Key words: Agaricus bisporus, anticancer, antimicrobial, ABTS, DPPH, HL-60.