ABSTRACT
Phallus atrovolvatus is a wild edible mushroom found in Thailand. Three strains of Ph. atrovolvatus (DOAP-1, DOAP-2, and DOAP-3) were collected from forests in Central Thailand. Some requirements for mycelial growth were obtained in different media. Potato dextrose agar was determined as the best medium to support mycelial growth (83.50 mm after incubation for 7 days). Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the sequence of internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS4) confirmed DOAP-1 species status within Phallaceae as Ph. atrovolvatus with high levels of similarity at 99.34%. Antioxidant properties of hot water extract from the fruiting body of three isolates (CMP-1, CMP-2, and CMP-3) were also evaluated. Highest free radical scavenging ability was found in CMP-1 (94.94% at 2.0 mg/mL) whereas crude mushroom extracts exhibited very strong ferrous-ion chelating effects of 99.16% at 10 mg/ mL. Results indicating that all CMP isolates from Ph. atrovolvatus possess excellent antioxidant properties from natural sources.
