Mushrooms as Natural Antimicrobial Agents

It is estimated that there are around 140,000 species of mushroom on earth, but so far only 10% (about 14,000) have been named and this number is increasing steadily [1]. Mushrooms are one of the oldest food sources in human history. Mushrooms have been regarded as important natural materials by many civilizations because of their taste, nutrient content and medicinal properties. The ancient Romans called ‘’the food of the gods’’, the first Egyptians called ‘’the gifts of the god of Osiris’’, and the Chinese called ‘’the elixir of life’’. About 1000 fungus species are classified as edible in the world. Mushrooms are rich in minerals and contain many essential amino acids and contain vitamin B-rich proteins. In addition to its nutritional properties, many mushroom species have medicinal properties. Studies on mushrooms, which have an important place in terms of pharmacy, and which are thought to be around 140.000, are still at very low levels today [2,3]. Previously, mushrooms have been reported to have antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, larvicidal activity, cytotoxic activity, radionuclide activity, anticancer, anti-hyperglycaemic and immunomodulating properties [4-17].

Many antimicrobial drugs are used in the treatment of microorganisms. Although antimicrobial drugs used today are solutions for humans, they may be insufficient against microorganisms. Microorganisms that have become resistant to antimicrobial drugs remain an important problem that is difficult to solve in clinical practice. If the antimicrobial agent used in the treatment of a resistant microorganism is incorrectly selected, the treatment may fail. It can also cause a worse prognosis than a worse one. In addition, in cases where multidrug-resistant organisms are widely spread, there may be a very limited choice of agents for antimicrobial therapy. Today, very few new antimicrobial agents are used in the pharmaceutical market. In this context, determination of new antimicrobial agents is very important. Mushrooms are quite important natural sources used in alternative medicine. Today, in parallel with the increase in the number of diseases, alternative medicine tendency is gradually increasing due to insufficiency of synthetic medicines in these disadvantages. As an alternative to synthetic drugs, many natural resources such as plants, animals and mushrooms are used [18]. Mushrooms have been reported to have antimicrobial effects against different microorganisms in many studies.

In previous studies, ethanol extracts of Leucoagaricus leucothites (Vittad.) Wasser and Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill were reported to be effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida tropicalis and Candida albicans [19-20]. Ethanol, methanol and dichloromethane extracts of Lentinus tigrinus (Bull.) Fr. were reported to be effective against S. aureus, S. aureus MRSA, E. faecalis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, C. albicans, C. krusei and C. glabrata [21]. Methanol and dichloromethane extracts of Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. were reported to be effective against S. aureus, S. aureus MRSA, E. faecalis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, C. albicans, C. krusei and C. glabrata [22]. The extracts of acetone and methanol of Boletus aestivalis (Paulet) Fr., Boletus edulis Bull. and Leccinum carpini (R. Schulz) M.M. Moser ex D.A. Reid were reported to be effective against S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, E. faecalis, Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, C. albicans, Paecilomyces variotii and Penicillium purpurescens [23]. Methanol extracts of Lycoperdon perlatum Pers., Cantharellus cibarius Fr., Clavaria vermicularis Sw., Ramaria formosa (Pers.) Quél., Marasmius oreades (Bolton) Fr., Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél. were reported to be effective against S. aureus, Bacillus subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans [24]. Methanol extracts of Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc., Corilopsis occidentalis, Daldinia concentrica (Bolton) Ces. & De Not., Daedalea elegans Spreng. and Tricholoma lobayense R. Heim were reported to be effective against B. cereus, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. niger, A. flavus, C. albicans and Microsporum boulardii [25]. Osmoporus odoratus (Wulfen) Singer were reported to be effective against petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and water extracts against S. aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, B. subtilis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa [26]. Methanol extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm. were reported to be effective against S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, E. faecalis, A. haemolyticus, K. pneumoniae, S. typhimirium and C. albicans [27].

As a result, different mushroom species have many medicinal properties as well as edible properties. Mushrooms attract attention with their antimicrobial properties. In this study antimicrobial properties of some mushrooms are given. In addition, antimicrobial properties of many different mushroom species are mentioned in the literature. In this context, mushrooms are very important natural materials with their antimicrobial properties as well as their rich nutritional content.

None.

No conflict of interest.

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