SINOPSIS

Four culinary-medicinal fungi and mushrooms (Cordyceps sinensis, Termitomyces albuminosus, Antrodia camphorata, and A. salmonea) were individually inoculated into different cooked grains, and new products were formed after fungal fermentation and their antioxidant properties studied. The effectiveness of ethanolic extracts in antioxidant activities was in the descending order: the grains > products > mycelia. EC₅₀ values of the hot water extract from four products in reducing power were 2.14-10.11 mg/mL, whereas those of the ethanolic extracts were 2.56−71.34 mg/mL. With regard to scavenging ability, all EC₅₀ values of both extracts from 12 samples were less than 13 mg/mL, except for the hot water extract from A. camphorata mycelium. EC₅₀ values of both extracts from four products in chelating ability were 1.50−9.96 mg/mL, except for the hot water extract from Cordyceps-fermented polished rice and the ethanolic extract from A. camphorata-fermented embryo rice. Total phenol contents of both extracts from mycelia, products, and grain substrates were 2.45−12.26, 3.24−13.13, and 1.15−7.74 mg/g, respectively. Overall, four medicinal mushroom and fungi-fermented products were relatively effective in the antioxidant properties assayed and might be potential antioxidants for application in food products.