Abstract

Antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activities of Morchella conica Pers. 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 were used. Inhibition values of M. conica ethanol extracts, buthylated hydroxyanisol (BHA) and α-tocopherol standards were found to be 96.9, 98.9 and 99.2%, respectively, at a concentration of 160 µg/ml. When compared the inhibition levels of methanol extract of M. conica and standards in linoleic acid system, it was observed that the higher the concentration of bothM. conica ethanol extract and the standards the higher the inhibition effect.Total flavonoid amount was 9.17±0.56 µg mg^-1 quercetin equivalent while the phenolic compound amount was 41.93±0.29 µg mg^-1 pyrocatechol equivalent in the ethanolic extract. The antimicrobial effect of M. conica ethanol extractwas tested against six species of Gram-positive bacteria, seven species of Gram-negative bacteria and one species of yeast. The M. conica ethanol extracthad a narrow antibacterial spectrum against tested microorganisms. The most susceptible bacterium was M. flavus. The crude extract was found active on S. aureus ATCC 25923 and S. aureus Cowan I. The M. conica ethanol extract did not exhibit anticandidal activity against C. albicans.

Key words: Morchella conica Pers., mushroom, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.