Objective: This research was aimed at assessing the concentration of total polyphenols in ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes mushrooms and antioxidant activity.
Methods: Polyphenols were determined by the Folin Ciocalteu method, using lyophilized mushroom samples for the preparation of extracts and antioxidant activity by the TBARS method.
Results: Extracts prepared from mushrooms showed appreciable values of polyphenols, and for the ethanolic extract of Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes values of 102.78 and 81.83 mg of gallic acid/100 g of the sample respectively, comparable to those obtained in some fruits For methanolic extracts, values of 100.45 and 78.92 mg of gallic acid/100 g of sample were obtained. Polyphenol concentration values for the Pleurotus were higher in the two types of extracts and lower for the Lentinula edodes.
Conclusion: When evaluating the antioxidant activity, high antioxidant activity was found for the two types of mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes, presenting peroxidase inhibition values of 88.04 and 89.49% respectively.