Antioxidant and Cholinesterase Inhibition Activities of Three Tricholoma Species with Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents: The Edible Mushrooms from Anatolia

Tricholoma species, known as odorous mushrooms, are consumed in Anatolia as well as in the world. The antioxidant activity of extracts of Tricholoma fracticum, Tricholoma imbricatum and Tricholoma terreum was determined using five complementary tests: β-carotene/linoleic acid, DPPH⋅ scavenging, ABTS⋅+ scavenging, ferrous ion chelating assay and cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity assay. In the β-carotene/linoleic acid assay, the hexane extract of T. imbricatum showed 93.8 ± 1.4% lipid peroxidation inhibition at 0.8 mg/mL concentration, whilst in the ABTS⋅+ assay, the ethyl acetate extract of T. fracticum exhibited 88.8 ± 0.1% inhibition in the same concentration. In addition, the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of Tricholoma species were determined as pyrocatechol and quercetin equivalents, respectively. The in vitro anticholinesterase activities of extracts of Tricholoma species were tested against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, which are the key enzymes taking place in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. The hexane extract of T. imbricatum demonstrated the best inhibition activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes, indicating 71.8 ± 0.3% and 52.6 ± 1.0% at 0.2 mg/mL concentration, respectively. These results showed that the tested extracts obtained from Tricholoma species, particularly T. imbricatum, can be considered as sources of food additives, as well as moderate anticholinesterase agents.