ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF SOME WILD MUSHROOM EXTRACTS AGAINST PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

Mushrooms synthesize a multitude of low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites that have an important role as communication signals, to defend mushroom habitat or to inhibit the growth of competitors. Investigations have shown that some of these metabolites have potent antimicrobial activity and could be beneficial for humans. In this study, antimicrobial potential of the extracts from six wild mushrooms: Amanita echinocephala, Russula medulata, Cerena unicolor, Hericium erinaceus, Ishnoderma benzoinum and Laetiporus sulphureus was evaluated against Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activities of the methanolic mushroom extracts were investigated by the microdilution method. All the extracts that demonstrated inhibitory activities were further tested for bactericidal activity and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were determined. Antimicrobial activity was observed in all species included in the study, while the activities depended on the type and concentration of extract. The tested microorganism was more sensitive to the examined extracts from the polypore fungi (C. unicolor, H. erinaceus, I. benzoinum and L. sulphureus). The highest antibacterial activity was obtained in the extracts from polypores I. benzoinum and L. sulphureus (MBC=15.625 mg/mL). This study demonstrated that the analysed wild macrofungi have the potential to accumulate bioactive metabolites that possess antimicrobial activity.