Antioxidant properties of Antrodia camphorata in submerged culture

The biologically active compounds, antioxidant activities, and free radical scavenging effects of dry matter of cultural medium (DMCM), filtrate (DMF), and different solvent extracts of mycelia from Antrodia camphorata in submerged culture (ACSC) were investigated. DMF showed the strongest inhibition of lipid peroxidation as a function of its concentration, and was comparable to the antioxidant activity of BHA at the same concentration of 0.2 mg/mL. The hexane extract of mycelia had the weakest antioxidant ability, whereas other mycelial extracts exhibited a modest inhibition of lipid peroxidation. DMF and water extract of mycelia (WEM) showed marked activity in free radical scavenging. The antioxidant activities of filtrate and mycelial extracts were correlated with the presence of total polyphenols, the crude triterpenoids, and the protein/polysaccharide ratio of the crude polysaccharides. It was found that DMCM had lower antioxidant ability than DMF in different model systems, indicating that the major antioxidant components in DMF must be derived from the secondary metabolites of mycelia. The results presented herein indicate that DMF could possibly act as a chemopreventing agent with respect to free radical-related diseases.