Unleashing the Biological Potential of Fomes fomentarius via Dry and Wet Milling

Bioprospecting of Selected Species of Polypore Fungi from the Western Balkans

Growing mushrooms means meeting challenges while aiming for sustainability and circularity. Wherever the producer is located, commercial strains are the same originating from several producers. Customized strains adapted to local conditions are urgently needed. Before introducing new species to the strain development pipeline, the chemical characterization and biological activity of wild ones need to be assessed. Accordingly, the mycoceutical potential of five polypore mushroom species from Serbia was evaluated including: secondary metabolite composition, oxidative damage prevention, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). The phenolic pattern was comparable in all samples, but the amounts of specific chemicals varied. Hydroxybenzoic acids were the primary components. All samples had varying quantities of ascorbic acid, carotene, and lycopene, and showed a pronounced inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPx) and ability to scavenge HO•. Extracts were more potent tyrosinase inhibitors but unsuccessful when faced with ACE. Fomitopsis pinicola had the strongest anti-tumor efficacy while Ganoderma lucidum demonstrated strong selectivity in anti-tumor effect in comparison to normal cells. The evaluated species provided a solid foundation for commercial development while keeping local ecology in mind.

Online Extraction–DPPH–HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS System for Efficient Screening and Identification of Antioxidants from Citrus aurantium L. Var. amara (Rutaceae): Integrating Sample Preparation and Antioxidants Profiling

The lack of a direct connection between solid edible or medical natural products and bioactive compound profiling is a bottleneck in natural product research and quality control. Here, a novel integrated system, online extraction (OLE)–2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)–HPLC−DAD−QTOF-MS, was fabricated to extract, screen, and identify antioxidants from the whole fruit of Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA, Rutaceae) simply, rapidly, and efficiently. The system consumes less sample (1.0 mg of CAVA powder) and requires a shorter analytical time (45 min for sample extraction, antioxidants screening, separation, and identification). Eight antioxidant flavonoids were screened and identified, and six available flavanones were sensitively, precisely, and accurately quantified. Two major flavanone glycosides, naringin (50.37 ± 0.43 mg/g) and neohesperidin (38.20 ± 0.27 mg/g), exhibit potent DPPH scavenging activities with IC₅₀ values of 111.9 ± 10.06 and 178.55 ± 11.28 μg/mL. A minor flavanone aglycone, hesperitin (0.73 ± 0.06 mg/g), presents stronger DPPH scavenging activity (IC₅₀, 39.07 ± 2.51 μg/mL). Furthermore, density functional theory calculations demonstrated their electron transport ability and chemical reactivity, which confirmed the screened results. The results indicate that the developed OLE–DPPH–HPLC−DAD−QTOF-MS system provides new perspectives for analysis of antioxidants from complex natural products, which also contribute to the quality evaluation of CAVA.