Chemical and bioactivity profiling in wild edible mushrooms

Wild mushrooms contain a huge diversity of biomolecules with nutritional [1] and/or medicinal properties [2]. They have been recognized as functional foods and as a source for the development of medicines and nutraceuticals. Fruiting bodies, mycelia and spores accumulate a variety of bioactive metabolites with immunomodulatory, cardiovascular, liver protective, anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antiviral, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumor properties [2]. In a nutritional point of view, mushrooms are rich in water, minerals, proteins, fibers and carbohydrates, and that they are low caloric foods due to low content in fat. There are several studies reporting nutrient analysis of different mushroom species from all over the world [1]. Our research group has been dedicated to mushrooms from Northeast Portugal, one of the European regions with higher biodiversity in wild mushrooms, most of them with great gastronomic importance [3,4]. Moreover, many studies have concluded that mushrooms possess potent antioxidants such as phenolic compounds, tocopherols, ascorbic acid and carotenoids as it was described by our research group [5]. Furthermore, mushrooms are considered an important source of molecules with antitumor properties, including low (e.g. quinones, cerebrosides, isoflavones, catechols, amines, triacylglycerols, sesquiterpenes and steroids) and high (e.g. polysaccharides, glycoproteins, proteoglycans and proteins) molecular weight compounds [6].FCT (Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU: research project PTDC/AGR-ALI/110062/2009 and CIMO strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011