Antioxidant and antiradical properties of methanolic extracts from algerian wild edible desert truffles (terfezia and tirmania, ascomycetes).

Wild edible truffles (namely, Terfezia leonis, Tirmania pinoyi, and T. nivea) were commercially obtained from Southern Algeria and methanolic extracts were prepared from these truffles. Their antioxidant and antiradical properties were studied by using five analytical methods: scavenging capacity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·), 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS·+), superoxide anion (O2·-) radicals, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and ferricyanide/Prussian blue assay. Chemical constituents contributing to these activities were also investigated. T. leonis had the highest total phenolics, total carotenoids, and anthocyanin contents. At 2.6 mg/mL, scavenging effects on the DPPH· radical were 92.47%, 53.06%, and 41.34% for T. leonis, T. pinoyi, and T. nivea, respectively. T. leonis showed the most potent radical scavenging activities on DPPH·, ABTS·+, and O2·- radicals, with EC50 values of 1.08, 1.35, and 7.27 mg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, T. leonis exhibited the highest reductive capabilities. On the basis of the EC50 values, T. leonis had good antioxidant and antiradical properties. These results showed that methanolic extracts from these three truffles species had effective antioxidant and antiradical properties. Therefore, wild edible desert truffles could serve as an easily accessible item of food rich in natural antioxidants, as a possible food supplement, or even as a pharmaceutical agent.