Chemical composition and radical scavenging activity of melanin from Auricularia auricula fruiting bodies

Abstract

Melanin extracted from Auricularia auricula fruiting bodies (AAFB) was examined by element analyzer, amino acid analyzer, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Elemental composition analysis revealed that main component of AAFB melanin was pheomelanin. Amino acid analysis showed that 16 amino acids were found in AAFB melanin and total amino acid content was 321. 63 mg/g. There were 13 detectable metal elements in AAFB melanin, which was rich in Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn. In addition, AAFB melanin exhibited stronger scavenging activities on 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical with IC 50 values of 0.18, 0.59 and 0.34 mg/mL, respectively. These results indicated that AAFB melanin might be potentially used as a natural antioxidant.

Characterization of a nontoxic pyomelanin pigment produced by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

“…The IC 50 value was determined as 230 μg/ml, which is close to that of melanins of fungal or plant origins. A slightly higher antioxidant activity (IC 50 of 180 μg/ml) was reported for melanin extracted from Auricularia auricular fruiting bodies . Three melanin fractions with different antioxidant properties were purified from chestnut shell .…”

Heating effects on physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity of flaxseed hull oil (Linum usitatissimum L)

“…DPPH assay was the simplest and most accurate method to evaluate the radical scavenging ability of antioxidants (Zou et al, 2015). The absorbance of DPPH from heated oil is shown in Figure 1.…”

Optimization of culture medium for production of melanin by Auricularia auricula

“…As a result, there has been a strong consumer demand to use melanin in food industry as a natural colorant, due to its healthful functions and safety, especially compared with synthetic colorant. However, preparation process of melanin from fruit body of A. auricula is complex and costly (Zou et al, 2015b). In addition, the time to complete fruit body of A. auricula is long and quality of fungus product is instability (Wu et al, 2006).…”