Spectral Analysis and Phytochemical Screening of Ganoderma lucidum Mushroom Extracts

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom known by various names, the most popular being LingZhi or Reishi. Even today, this mushroom is used for its adjuvant effect in various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, diseases of the immune system, and, above all, for its antioxidant effect in the treatment of cancer. It contains numerous bioactive components, but the most abundant are polysaccharides, triterpenes, and phenolic compounds, which confer biological activity against various acute and chronic diseases. In the present study, we aimed to carry out a general analysis of the composition of different crude extracts of G. lucidum using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer by reading the absorbance in a fixed range (200-900 nm). The results obtained were correlated with those reported in the literature. At the same time, a pharmacognostic study was carried out on the mushroom extracts, and the results were detailed. According to the results obtained, we can conclude that G. lucidum is a mushroom rich in bioactive compounds.