In this study, we investigated the in vitro antiviral activity of the mycelia of higher mushrooms against influenza virus type A (serotype H1N1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), strain BH. All 10 investigated mushroom species inhibited the reproduction of influenza virus strain A/FM/1/47 (H1N1) in MDCK cells reducing the infectious titer by 2.0-6.0 lg ID50. Four species, Pleurotus ostreatus, Fomes fomentarius, Auriporia aurea, and Trametes versicolor, were also determined to be effective against HSV-2 strain BH in RK-13 cells, with similar levels of inhibition as for influenza. For some of the investigated mushroom species-Pleurotus eryngii, Lyophyllum shimeji, and Flammulina velutipes-this is the first report of an anti-influenza effect. This study also reports the first data on the medicinal properties of A. aurea, including anti-influenza and antiherpetic activities. T. versicolor 353 mycelium was found to have a high therapeutic index (324.67), and may be a promising material for the pharmaceutical industry as an anti-influenza and antiherpetic agent with low toxicity. Mycelia with antiviral activity were obtained in our investigation by bioconversion of agricultural wastes (amaranth flour after CO2 extraction), which would reduce the cost of the final product and solve some ecological problems.

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Waste management and providing a world population with rich in protein food are two important problems of which the utilization of agro-industrial (agriculture and food industry) waste by higher mushrooms causes the growing interest of researchers around the world. More than 150 individual types of wastes have been investigated last decade as alternative substrates alone or in various compositions (more than 450 substrates) for cultivation of 52 higher mushroom species (about 100 strains) as evidenced by the results of more than 130 considered in the review scientific publications. All waste is used as a basis for substrates and supplements thereto, are characteristic of the respective continent and region of the world. Publications containing biochemical studies of substrates and fungi confirm that fungi are grown in rich in biologically active substances unconventional substrates, provide a rich biochemical composition of fungi compared with conventional substrates (sawdust, straw, etc.). The disadvantage of many publications is the lack of mention of examined fungi strains, whereas studies of various strains of the same fungus in the same substrate show different results. The prospect of the study of agricultural residues utilization by higher mushrooms consists in the investigations of: productivity, biological efficiency of the process, morphological and biochemical indices of cultivated mushrooms, depending on the biochemical parameters of substrates and the process conditions; safety of cultivated mushrooms.

The development of 'green' technologies in nanoparticle synthesis is of considerable importance to broaden their biological applications. Cadmium sulphide nanoparticles are considered very promising in applied chemistry, bioscience and medicine. The aim of this study was to develop an efficient, easily reproducible and environmentally friendly method for biosynthesis of cadmium sulphide quantum dots based on the usage of mycelium of the basidiomycete fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. By incubating P. ostreatus mycelium with inorganic cadmium sulphate and sodium sulphide, we synthesized stable luminescent CdS nanocrystals. They showed absorption peaks at 453 nm (ultravioletÀvisible spectrometry) and a main luminescent peak at 462 nm. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the obtained quantum dots were of a spherical shape and predominantly from 4 to 5 nm in size. The electron diffraction pattern confirmed the wurtzite crystalline structure of the synthesized cadmium sulphide quantum dots. The obtained results confirm for the first time that the system based on basiodiomycete fungi could be considered promising for synthesizing semiconductor quantum dots.

In addition to their nutritional properties, mushrooms have emerged as a health supplement because of their medicinal potential. Many studies have shown that mushrooms exhibit important biological activities. Here, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Hohenbuehelia myxotricha (Lév.) Singer mycelia cultivated on Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB) and glucose peptone yeast (GPY) medium were studied. The total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) of ethanolic extracts of mycelia were measured using Rel Assay kits. The antioxidant and oxidant potentials of H. myxotricha mycelial extracts were determined for the first time in the present study. The highest TAS, TOS, and OSI values of H. myxotricha were 5.416 ± 0.150 mmol/l, 1.320 ± 0.156 μmol/l, and 0.024 ± 0.003, respectively. Ethanolic mycelial extracts of H. myxotricha showed antimicrobial activities at concentrations from 25 to 200 μg/ml against all the studied bacteria ( Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterococcus faecalis , Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , methicillin-resistant S. aureus , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) and fungi ( Candida albicans , C. glabrata , and Issatchenkia orientalis ) tested by the agar dilution method. The antifungal activity of the extract was more significant than its antibacterial activity. The antioxidant, oxidant, and antimicrobial potentials of H. myxotricha mycelia varied depending on the culture media used. GPY medium was more suitable for the synthesis of antibiotic compounds against E. coli , while SDB medium was more appropriate for producing metabolites with antioxidant and antifungal properties. Based on the results, ethanolic extract of H. myxotricha mycelia showed a significant pharmacological potential and could be used as a natural antioxidative and antimicrobial source for health benefit.

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A new substrate, breadcrumbs, was investigated for biomass accumulation, the pH of the cultural broth, the formation of primary metabolites such as the proteins and endopolysaccharides of Schizophyllum commune 1768 and Trametes versicolor 353, as well as its bioconversion efficiency. The results showed that S. commune gives more mycelial mass (23.96 ± 0.8 g/l) and in a shorter period (4 days) than T. versicolor (15.76 ± 0.5 g/l in 5 days). The pH values changed from the initial 6.1 to 3.6 in S. commune cultural broth and to 4.4 in T. versicolor cultural broth. Maximal endopolysaccharide content in the mycelia of S. commune and T. versicolor were 7.13% and 6.42%, correspondingly. Crude protein content in S. commune mycelium was 18.83 % on the 4th day of cultivation, and 20.03%, in the mycelium of T. versicolor, on the 6th day of cultivation. Kinetic parameters for the quantitative estimation of cultivation efficiency were calculated for biomass, endopolysaccharide, and crude protein concentrations.