Towards the antioxidant and chemical characterization of mycorrhizal mushrooms from Northeast Portugal

Mushrooms are widely appreciated all over the world for their nutritional properties and pharmacological value as sources of important bioactive compounds. Mycorrhizal macrofungi associate with plant roots constituting a symbiotic relationship. This symbiosis could influence the production of secondary metabolites, including bioactive compounds. We focused on the evaluation of antioxidant potential and chemical composition of mycorrhizal mushrooms species from Northeast Portugal: Amanita caesarea, Amanita muscaria, Amanita pantherina, Chroogomphus fulmineus, Cortinarius anomalus, Cortinarius collinitus, Cortinarius violaceus, Lactarius quietus, Lactarius volemus, Russula sardonia, Suillus luteus and Tricholoma ustale. A similar profile of metabolites was observed in the studied species with the order sugars > fat > ascorbic acid > phenolic compounds > tocopherols. Nevertheless, the samples revealed different compositions: prevalence of sugars in L. volemus, fat and ascorbic acid in A. muscaria, phenolic compounds in C. anomalus and tocopherols and antioxidant activity in S. luteus