Abstract:
Aspergillus are a valuable source of therapeutically active compounds.
Thus, the activities of various species of this genus deserve to be studied in order to establish other more
potent fungal substances that can be reliable therapies for humans.
Objectives: This work aims to evaluate the antioxidant activity of three fungal species of the
Aspergillus genus.
Methods: Fungal strains (A. quadrilineatus, A. niveus and A. wentii) were seeded on Czapek
dox medium, after 14 days of fermentation, the extraction of metabolites was carried out by chloroform,
then the fungal extracts were tested for their antioxidant activity according to four methods: the trapping
of the free radical DPPH, the trapping of the radical ABTS, the reduction by the formation of the ferrous
complex fe2+ phenanthroline and the power of reduction of ferric ions (FRAP).
Results and discussion: The combination of the different procedures showed that the extract of
A. wentii has the most important antioxidant activity with 83% trapping effect on DPPH radicals.
Trapping of the ABTS radical by the same extract showed inhibition of 90% of the radicals. It also
showed an absorbance of 1.36% of ferrous ion chelation. In addition, the three extracts are able to reduce
iron and form the Fe+2-phenanthroline complex. However, all species showed low ferric ion reduction
activity based on the FRAP test.
Conclusion: This work shows the ability of the three fungal strains to produce bioactive
molecules that have antioxidant activity, whose most significant effect is revealed by the species A.
wentii which is due to its richness in phenolic compounds commonly known for their antioxidant
properties
