Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. Wild of the Province of Taza, Morocco: Toxicity Assessment in In Vitro and In Vivo Models, Antioxidant Activities and Correlation With the Chemical Composition of Aqueous and Organic Extracts.

Abstract

Mushrooms are a source of nutrients and bioactive substances. This work, carried out for the first time, aims to evaluate in vitro and in vivo toxicity and antioxidant potential of the wild edible mushroom from the province of Taza, Morocco: Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers., the extraction is carried out using two methods: aqueous and organic. We assessed the toxicity in vitro on Artemia salina larvae and in vivo on Swiss Albino mice. Antioxidant activity was assessed by H₂O₂, ABTS, FRAP and PR tests. Principal component analysis enabled us to visualise the correlations between the chemical composition, antioxidant activity and in vitro toxicity. The in vitro toxicity results showed that the infused extract was nontoxic (LD50 = 3443.33 ± 20.66 μg/mL) and the diethyl ether macerated was toxic (LD50 = 68.91 ± 2.76 μg/mL). In vivo, this mushroom is not acutely toxic (LD50 ≥ 5000 mg/kg body weight). This study revealed that the decocted was the most active via the H₂O₂ test (23.69 ± 0.61%) and the aqueous macerated was the most active through the ABTS and FRAP tests, with 184.1 ± 0.67 mg TE/g E and 137.92 ± 0.03 mgET/gE, respectively, while the diethyl ether macerated was the most active via PR test (43.76 ± 0.51 mgEAA/gE). Principal component analysis shows a strong correlation between polyphenols and the FRAP test (r = 0.8369) and flavonoids and the PR test (r = 0.8484). There is a strong correlation between in vitro toxicity, catechic tannin content and reducing power, with r = 0.8079 and r = 0.7869, respectively. Thus, consumption of this mushroom after heat treatment is considered safe and it has an interesting antioxidant potential, which could offer it therapeutic value.