Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Fomitopsis Dochmius (berk. & Broome) Ryvarden

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of various solvent extracts of Fomitopsis dochmius, a polypore found in Western Ghats of Kerala, India were investigated. Petroleum ether (PE), ethyl acetate (EA), 70 % aqueous ethanol (ETH) and hot water (AQ) extracts of the fruiting bodies of the mushroom were examined for their antioxidant activities. PE was found to show activity against hydroxyl radicals, lipid peroxidation and ABTS .+ radicals. EA extract was able to scavenge DPPH . , hydroxyl, and ABTS .+ radicals and also showed ferric ion reducing and lipid peroxidation inhibition properties. ETH and AQ extracts were active against all the above mentioned radicals besides superoxide and nitric oxide radicals. Since ETH extract showed higher antioxidant activity than other solvent extracts, its anti-inflammatory property was examined. The extract, at a dose of 500 mg/ kg body weight, was found as effective as the standard anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac (10 mg/ kg body weight). The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the four extracts indicated that the fruiting body of the mushroom contained steroids, terpenes, coumarins, phenols, alkaloids, saponins, anthraquinones and polysaccharides. INTRODUCTION: Mushrooms remain an inadequately studied natural source for their therapeutic potentials. Of the 140, 000 estimated species of mushrooms, only 10 % are known 1, 2 and among them, a few have been studied adequately for their medicinal value. Several studies have established that mushrooms contain compounds having a wide spectrum of bioactivities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities 3, 4, 5, 6 .