Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Culinary-Medicinal Morel Mushrooms, Morchella Dill. ex Pers. (Ascomycetes): Relation to Color and Phenol Contents

摘要

Morels (Morchella spp.) are sought-after edible mushrooms encompassing several different species that differ in head color and ecological characteristics. High phenotypic variability, including differences in color, is also found within the species. In the present report, the relationships between antioxidant content as radical-scavenging activity (RSA), phenol content, and color within populations of two Morchella species, M vulgaris and M. esculenta, were studied. Total RSA measured using the radical DPPH (1,1-dipheny1-2-picrylhydrazyl), total phenols measured after methanolic extraction, and ascocarp darkness measured by chromatometer were correlated. All three parameters exhibited high levels of variability among individual ascocarps within each species population. For both species, RSA correlated well with phenol content (R-2= 0.85 and 0.82 for M. vulgaris and M. esculenta, respectively). In addition, darker mushrooms within populations of each species had higher RSA and phenol contents than light-colored mushrooms.