Bacterial diseases and reactive oxygen species can cause dental caries and oral cancer. Therefore, the present review analyzes and discusses the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of synthetic and plant-derived substances and their current and future patents to formulate dental products. The reviewed evidence indicates that chlorhexidine, fluorides, and hydrogen peroxide have adverse effects on the sensory acceptability of oral care products. As an alternative, plant-derived substances have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that can be used in their formulation. Also, adding plant metabolites favors the sensory acceptability of dental products compared with synthetic compounds. Therefore, plant-derived substances have antibacterial, antioxidant, and flavoring activity with the potential to be used in the formulation of toothpaste, mouth rinses, dentures cleansers-fixatives, and saliva substitutes.

The content of antioxidant compounds varies within fungal species, and the Polyporales order has been recognized for this property. Numerous antioxidant compounds have been identified in Polyporales fungi, including phenolic compounds, β-glucans, ergosterol, ergothioneine, vitamin C, and tocopherols. Each compound contributes differently to the antioxidant potential of fungi. Besides the health benefits for rural communities caused by fungi consumption, their antioxidant composition attracts the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries’ interest. In this context, the present review compiles, analyzes, and discusses the bioactive composition of edible fungi of the Polyporales order and its contribution to total antioxidant capacity.

Neolentinus lepideus is a fungus consumed by rural communities in Central America and Asia due to its rich flavor; however, little information on its chemical composition is available. With this in mind, the objective of this work was to determine the content of vitamin E and C, ergosterol, and phenolic compounds of this fungus, as well as its antioxidant capacity. The quantified bioactive compounds were two isoforms of vitamin E, highlighting α-tocopherol (3370.35 mg/100 g dry weight, DW) and ergosterol (11.70 mg/100 g DW). The total phenolic content was 164.80 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g, and nine phenolic compounds were identified (protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, vanillic, ferulic, salicylic, p-anisic, trans-cinnamic acids, and scopoletin). The highest antioxidant capacity was detected in the lipophilic extract with TEAC (27688 μmoles Trolox equivalents/100 g). These results suggest that lipophilic compounds are among the main bioactive compounds in N. lepideus, and they might exhibit the highest radical scavenging properties in non-polar extracts.