Nutritional and pharmacological potentials of the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma adspersum (Schulz.) Donk

In this study, the nuraceutical and the pharmacological properties of the crude extract of a wild mushroom, Ganoderma adspersum (Schulz.) Donk collected from Tunisia, were investigated. The antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral (HSV-1) activities as well as antiproliferative potential against humain breast cancer (MCF-7) cells in vitro were studied. The fruiting body of Ganoderma revealed high protein and carbohydrates contents as well as a rich minerals composition and a low fat content. The crude extract exhibited a strong scavenging activity against ABTS+ radicals (IC50 = 9.75 μg/mL) and a powerful antibacterial activity against all tested Gram-positive bacteria. In this respect, the tested extract displayed an acceptable cytotoxicity limit towards normal Vero cells with a maximum non-toxic concentration value (MNTC) of 1.53 mg/mL as well as a proliferation ability which reached 108.19 % and 113.83 mg/mL at MNTC and 0.781 mg/mL concentrations, respectively. In addition, at concentration of 1.5 mg/mL, the extract exhibited an antiviral capacity against the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) with a potent selective index of 40 and a high percentage of protection of 84.7 % as well as a significant inhibition of MCF-7 cancer cells (16. 23 % ± 0.08). Our results corroborate the dietetic profile of G. adspersum as well as the medicinal potential of its crude extract, which could promote beneficial effects on human health. This is the first report on the antiviral HSV-1 and anticancer properties of a hydroalcholic extract of G. adspersum which highlights its potential as a natural source of bioactive components that can be isolated and tested in vivo.