Mineral Composition, Phenolic Content and Antibacterial Activity of Aqueous and Organic Extracts of Wild Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. From the Province of Taza, Morocco

Abstract

In the context of the valorisation of edible mushrooms from the province of Taza, Morocco, the present study, carried out for the first time, aims to evaluate the mineral composition, phenolic content, antibacterial activity and self‐preservation potential of wild Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. from Taza. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES) determined the mineral salt content. We performed aqueous extractions using decoction, infusion and maceration, as well as hot and cold organic extractions with ethanol, acetone and diethyl ether. We then carried out a qualitative and quantitative analyses of the chemical composition. The antibacterial activity of the aqueous and organic extracts was studied using the disc diffusion method and by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and bactericidal concentrations (MBCs). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyse the correlation between the chemical composition and antibacterial activity. Mineral analysis showed that the mushroom is rich in minerals, especially K (3578.4), Fe (2969.16), P (1818.66) and Mg (183.657) mg/kg dry matter. Quantitative analysis showed that the diethyl ether extract had the highest flavonoid content (846.07 ± 1.87 mgEQ/gE), the aqueous macerated extract was the richest in polyphenols (20.51 ± 0.45 mg EAG/gE) and the acetone extract had the highest catechic tannin content (17.13 ± 1.10 mgEC/gE). A study on antibacterial activity demonstrated that the decocted was bactericidal against Proteus mirabilis, while the aqueous macerated extract was bactericidal against Bacillus subtilis. The macerated diethyl ether extract was bacteriostatic against Proteus mirabilis, whereas the ethanolic extract was bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus. This study showed that this mushroom is abundant in minerals and phenolic compounds, demonstrating its nutritional and therapeutic interest. In addition, this mushroom has antibacterial potential, which provides it the ability to protect itself against infection by pathogenic bacteria during storage and commercialization. PCA correlated the richest extracts in phenolic compounds and antibacterial activity.