Abstract

Pycnoporus sanguineus is a bright orange-red colored thin fan-like shaped bracket basidiomycetes. This paper highlights the effects of time-course submerged culture on the growth of mycelia and biological activities of P. sanguineus. Prolonged incubation of mycelia in submerged cultivation using coconut water up to 25 days significantly increased the mycelial biomass from 0.24 g to 0.51 g (dry weight), and correspondingly the biomass concentration from 4.8 g/L to 10.2 g/L. The characteristics of mycelia varied in every period of incubation. The radical scavenging activity of mycelial extracts increased in extending time of incubation, whereas the phenolic content peaked after 20 days of fermentation. Extracts of all ages of mycelia exhibited antibacterial activity against both bacteria, having a zone of inhibition diameter ranges of 8.00–9.30 mm in Staphylococcus aureus and 7.11–7.38 mm in Escherichia coli. Prolonged incubation caused the decrease in LC50 values from 154.83 μg/mL to 16.02 μg/mL after 25 days, indicating an increasing toxicity of the mycelial extracts. The 20-day-old mycelia contain nine groups of fungal chemicals that include triterpenes, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, anthrones, and fatty acids, which are responsible to the above-mentioned biological activities. Therefore, prolonged submerged culture of P. sanguineus mycelia up to 25 days enhances the production of mycelial biomass and improves the biological activities.

Key words: Pycnoporus sanguineus, time-course submerged culture, mycelial biomass, bioactives, cytotoxic