The In Vitro Antibacterial and Antioxidant Potentials of Helvella bachu (Ascomycetes): A Newly Recorded Species from Pakistan

A combination of micromorphology and phylogenetic analysis based on translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1 alpha) revealed these specimens as Helvella bachu, the first record of this species in Pakistan after China. Moreover, the material was evaluated for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Four strains of bacteria, i.e., Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella aerogettes, K. pneumonia, and Staphylococcus aureus were used for antibacterial activity following Soxhlet extraction. The maximum zone of inhibition of methanolic extract of H. bachu at 30 mg/mL against B. subtilis was 31.9 +/- 1.735 mm, followed by K. aerogenes (29.33 +/- 2.19 mm), K. pneumoniae (27.08 +/- 4.6 nun), and S. aureus (24 +/- 1.53 mm), respectively. The methanolic extract, in free radical scavenging assay, of H. bachu has shown antioxidant potential with an IC50 value of 0.4047 mu g/mL while that of ascorbic acid was 0.374 mu g/mL. Hence, H. bachu can serve as a source of mushroom-based nutraceuticals.