Chemical Composition and Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Cultured Mycelia of Four Clavicipitaceous Mushrooms (Ascomycetes) from the Indian Himalayas.

Cultured mycelia of 4 clavicipitaceous fungi belonging to 2 genera, Cordyceps (C. gracilis, C. cicadae, C. sinclairii) and Metacordyceps (M. dhauladharensis), were analyzed for their chemical composition and antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Experiments to determine these characteristics were performed following standard methods. The fatty acid profiles of mycelia of all the species were analysed using gas chromatography. Chemical composition analysis of mycelial samples revealed carbohydrates (46.72 ± 0.7% to 63.40 ± 0.3%), protein (14.19 ± 0.2% to 26.16 ± 0.1%), crude fibers (0.93 ± 0.0% to 1.22 ± 0.0%), and ash (0.77 ± 0.0% to 0.98 ± 0.0%). The amounts of calcium and iron in mycelia were significantly higher than amounts of magnesium, copper, and manganese. The amount of β-carotene ranged from 0.67 to 1.17 μg/100 g; lycopene, from 0.30 to 0.57 μg/100 g; phenolic compounds, from 29.16 to 43.12 mg/100 g; polysaccharides, from 104 to 126 mg/g; and flavonoids, from 2.15 to 4.25 mg/g. All tested species showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) antioxidant activities measured based on half-maximal effective concentrations. C. cicadae possessed the lowest half-maximal effective concentration compared with the other species. All 4 species showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against 7 tested pathogenic bacterial strains.