Activities of two edible macrofungi, Coprinus comatus and Leucoagaricus leucothites in human lymphocytes: cytogenetic and biochemical study

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the biological effects of two wild edible fungal species, Coprinus comatus (O.F. Müll.) Pers. and Leucoagaricus leucothites (Vittad.) Wasser in human lymphocytes. Different concentrations (1-100 mg/L) of aqueous and methanol extracts from C. comatus and L. leucothites were added to cultured human lymphocytes. Genetic damage in the cells was determined with chromosome aberration (CA) and micronucleus (MN) assays, and the changes in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative stress (TOS) in the cells were monitored. Concentration-dependent TAC increase was measured in the cells exposed to different concentrations of the extracts. It was observed that the treatments with concentrations of 25-100 mg/L of the extracts statistically (p < 0.05) decreased TOS levels in the cells compared to negative control. It was observed that different concentrations of tested extracts did not significantly (p > 0.05) increase the CA and MN frequency in the lymphocytes. Furthermore, no negative effects of the extracts on cell proliferation were observed. Overall, the obtained data indicate that the extracts obtained from C. comatus and L. leucothites could be useful in the development of functional food and raw materials for medical preparations.