Chemical Composition, Fatty Acids, Total Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of the Desert Truffle Terfezia Boudieri Chatin in the Northern Region of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Terfezia boudieri Chatin (T. boudieri), which belongs to the Terfeziaceae family, is a desert truffle growing naturally from mycorrhizal relationships with plants that inhabit the slightly moist sandy soils of some desert or semi-desert regions. The chemical examination of the methanolic extract of T. boudieri led to the isolation of a new ketone and the known compound mannitol. The structures of the 2 isolated compounds were resolved using spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and were supported by literature data. The GC-MS analysis of the Fatty Acids (FAs) of T. boudieri oils showed high Unsaturated FA (UFA) profile (78.72%). The major FAs were linoleic acid (62.36%) and oleic acid (14.7%). Comparing the extracts obtained, the methanolic extract revealed the highest levels of Total Phenolic Content (TPC) of 185.56 mg GAE/100 g of truffle, thus the same extract showed the best results for antioxidant activity.