Hericium erinaceus (HE) is an edible mushroom to exhibit several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammation and anti-cancer effects. This study focuses on the antioxidant potential of HE as extraction solvents. HE was extracted with ethanol (HEE) and water (HEW) in order to observe the change of the extraction amount of the active ingredient. Total polyphenol content (TPC) analyses were performed to decide the active ingredient contents of HEE and HEW. Moreover, 2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) and 1,2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities were conducted to compare the antioxidant activities of HEE and HEW extracts. As a result, TPC (7.08 ± 0.08 g GAE/kg extract) of HEE was found significantly higher as compared to HEW (4.94 ± 0.02 g GAE/kg extract). The IC50 values based on the ABTS for HEE (471.47 ± 20.38 μg/ml) was generally stronger showing potential antioxidant properties compared to HEW (606.97 ± 1.04 μg/ml). On the other hand, DPPH radical scavenging activity showed no significant change in HEE and HEW extracts. These results demonstrated that ethanol extracts from HE could be useful as an antioxidative functional ingredients.

• Hyun Soo Kim(National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA)
• Chan Hum Park(National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA)
• Sang Won Lee(National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA)
• Yu-Su Shin(National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA)