摘要
The wild edible mushroom,Termitomyces has been employed in traditional medicine by various indigenous communities throughout Asia and Africa.In India,the Santal tribe used it to treat pox while the Mokokchung people used it for abdominal discomfort,cough and whooping cough.However,to date,the antiviral activity of Termitomyces has not been evaluated.Thus,the nutritional value,chemical composition and antiviral potential of Termitomyces clypeatus were investigated.Further,the in vivo oral toxicity of the mushroom extract was assessed in BALB/c mice.The proximate composition analysis indicated a high protein,crude fibre,carbohydrate and mineral content.Bioactive metabolites including Sphinganine,Burseran and Melleolide were also detected in the mushroom extract.For the first time,the anti-antiviral property of Termitomyces clypeatus(100μg/mL)with 95.74%±4.01%and 87.13%±3.61%inhibition in viral copy number of CHIKV and SARS-CoV-2,respectively was documented.The in vivo acute and sub-acute toxicity study using BALB/c mice revealed no clinical signs of toxicity on oral administration of the mushroom extract.These findings offer the scientific rationale for the possible safe use of Termitomyces clypeatus as a functional food in managing RNA viruses,CHIKV and SARS-CoV-2.
基金
financial support provided through the Himalayan Bioresource Mission funded by the Department of Biotech-nology,Ministry of Science and Technology,Government of India(Project no.-BT/PR45281/NER/95/193).
