Considering the importance of Basidiomycotina fungi as bioindicators and the increasing tendency of air and soil contamination nowadays, content of macroelements: N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na, and some of heavy metals (microelements): Fe, Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn in sporocarps of 22 species of macrofungi from National park Fruška Gora was analyzed in this work. The majority of them are lignicolous species from the class: Homobasidiomycetes order Aphyllophorales s. lato and two of them belong to subdivision Ascomycotina. Special attention was given to the medically important fungal species widely distributed in this area: Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma applanatum, Coriolus. versicolor, Flammulina velutipes, Meripilus giganteus and Omphalotus olearius. Since fungi uptake macro- and microelements from the substrate, the soil and tree samples were also analyzed. The aim of this study was to determine the common concentration data of these elements in unpolluted area. According to the obtained results, fungi tended to accumulate K, P and N with lower variability recorded than that for Ca, Mg and Na due to essential importance of these elements in fungal metabolic processes, independently from ecological group affiliation and habitats. The analysing substrate (wood) contain higher concentration of Ca and Pb in relevance to fungi. As a result of transfer factors (TFs) that were estimated from the ratio of "concentration in fungi on dry weight basis" to "concentration in the tree or soil on dry weight basis" analyzed fungi tended to accumulate Cu and Zn, and partially Cr. Among the species that accumulate microelements the following species could be emphasized: Meripilus giganteus (except for Zn) Schizophyllum commune (except for Pb), Ganoderma applanatum (except for Fe and Zn). Superaccumulators of Fe were the lignicolous, medically imortant species M. giganteus, G. lucidum, Sch. commune, and tericolous ones: C. atramentari- us, F. velutipes, and P. vernalis. Good Cu accumalators were tericolous species: Psathyrella vernalis, Morchella vulgaris, and Coprinus atramentarius, then the species possesing the rhizomorphs: Armillaria polymyces and Omphalotus olearius, and finally lignicolous species: Ganoderma applanatum and Pseudotrametes gibbosa. The highest accumulation of Zn was recorded for the species Schizophyllum commune, while the fungal species expressed the smallest tendency of accumulation of Pb, except one tericolous saprophytic species C. atramentarius. The greatest accumulation of Cr was found in tericolous species especially C. atramentarius, too. Statistical cluster analysis classified fungi mostly by location, by which the urban site is distinguished from the others, where the analyzed tericolous species were found. These data indicate that the accumulation ability is not only genetically coded, but also influenced by environmental factors. This data could be used in toxicology, pharmacology and environmental protection

This study was conducted to determine the size and spatial distribution of mycelial individuals of Marasmius rotula at one locality on Mt. Stara planina in the Republic of Serbia. Total of 12 sporocarps were collected from investigated locality (Vidlič, Stara planina). Sporocarps were distributed in four groups and distances between them were approximately 10-30 meters. Genomic DNA was extracted from each sporocarp and used for inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphism analysis using (GTG) 5 and (GACA) 4 primers. Both primers showed reproducible band patterns on agarose gels and sporocarps with identical band patterns were considered to belong to the same individual (genet) and were grouped accordingly. Grouping with both primers determined that 12 analyzed sporocarps belong to 4 distinct genets (A, B, C, D). Approximate genet diameters were 2 m for two genets (A, B) and 15 m for one genet (C) while diameter of one genet (D) was not possible to determine since it was represented only by one sporocarp. The results presented here are the first data about size and spatial distribution of genets of M. rotula. To determine whether the obtained genet sizes are general trait of an analyzed species or a special trait appeared as an effect of environmental conditions, more information on the genet distribution of other M. rotula populations is needed.

As a result of an interest in natural derived metabolites around the world higher fungi (Basidiomycotina) have taken on great importance in biochemical investigations. A large number of structurally divergent compounds - both cellular components and secondary metabolites - have been extracted and found to possess significant biological activity, such as an immunomodulative effect on the human body. Effects of fungal biomolecules as potential natural antioxidants have not been examined so far. Biochemical analysis have included in vitro testing of the influence of different extracts (water methanol, chloroform) of selected fungal sporocarps on Fe2+/ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation (LP) in a lecithin liposome system by TBA assay, as well as various other procedures. Qualitative analysis by TLC revealed a distinction both between different extracts of the same fungal species and between similar extracts of different species. The results obtained on antioxidative activities (LP inhibition and "scavenging" activity) indicate that MeOH extracts manifested a degree of activity higher than that of CHCl3 extracts with respect to antioxidative activity, the extracts can be ranged in the following declining order: Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma applanatum Meripilus giganteus, and Flammulina velutipes. The obtained results suggest that the analyzed fungi are of potential interest as sources of strong natural antioxidants in the food and cosmetics industries, whereas synthetic ones have proved to be carcinogenic

The aim of this work was to investigate nutritional profile in relation to proteins, amino acids, fatty acids and mineral composition, as well as phenolic profile of small edible fungal species Coprinellus disseminatus originated from Serbia. Total protein content in the analyzed fungal species was 9.72%. Fifteen protein fractions obtained by electrophoresis were identified in a range from 1.6 to 63.6 kDa. Chip-based separations showed the presence of protein fraction with molecular weight of 27.5 kDa that could possess antifungal activity. The total essential and non-essential amino acid contents were 29.57 and 96.69 mg/g DW, respectively. Among the essential amino acids, leucine was the most abundant. Fatty acid composition of C. disseminatus showed that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, 59.1% of total FA) predominated over saturated fatty acids (SFA, 23.1% of total FA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, 17.9% of total FA). The dominant fatty acids were linoleic acid (56.6%), palmitic acid (13.9%), and oleic acid (12.0%). The most abundant macroelement in C. disseminatus was potassium, followed by calcium and magnesium, while iron dominated in microelements. Eight phenolic compounds were quantified in methanolic extract of C. disseminatus by LC-MS/MS with the highest amount of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and p-coumaric acid reaching 9.46 ± 0.2 µg/g DW and 7.8 ± 0.1 µg/g DW, respectively.

Ganoderma lucidum, used in a traditional Chinese medicine, represents one of the most important medicinal mushrooms in the world, whose fruiting bodies and spores have been traditionally used because of a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antidiabetic, antioxidative, antiproliferative, cardioprotective, etc. Its ethnomedicinal importance in some parts of the Balkan region (Serbia and Croatia) is almost totally unknown and there should be more scientific investigations carried out. The aim of this work was to make a comparative study of antioxidative activities and total phenolic content of ethanol and hot water extracts of G. lucidum, collected from forests in Serbia (Morovicke sume, Fruska Gora) and Croatia (Donji Lapac, Pljesevica). The present study was carried out to evaluate antioxidant potential of examined extracts via scavenging potential on ABTS, DPPH, OH? and NO? radicals, as well as of chelating effects via FRAP assay, together with determination of their total phenolic content. Results showed that both GLS extracts possessed better antiradical activities (IC50=0.23?0.01 for H2O and 2.75?0.01 ?g/mL for EtOH for OH? and DPPH assay, respectively) than in the ABTS assay (151.40?1.07 mg TE/g d.w. for EtOH), while the phenolic content was generally equal in extracts of Serbian and Croatian samples (60.74?0.57 mg GAE/g d.w. for EtOH and 77.10?0.27 mg GAE/g d.w. for H2O, respectively). Therefore, these extracts could be considered as a good source of natural antioxidants. These results showed that examined G. lucidum extracts (especially ?2?) contain high amount of phenolic content which could significantly enhance the antiradical potential and reduce potential on iron ions. This is the first study reporting the comparison of antioxidant activities and phenolic contents of two different extracts between two G. lucidum strains from two different geographical origins from the Balkan region. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 43002]