Chemical profiling and biological activities of the medicinal macrofungus Coriolopsis gallica: volatile, non-volatile, and fatty acid composition with antioxidant and in silico–supported anti-inflammatory properties

TL;DR

This paper explores the chemical makeup and health benefits of the Coriolopsis gallica mushroom, finding antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that could be useful in natural medicine.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed chemical and biological profile of Coriolopsis gallica, supported by in silico analysis of its anti-inflammatory potential.

Findings

C. gallica contains high levels of linoleic acid and oleic acid, which may contribute to anti-inflammatory effects.

The ethanolic extract of C. gallica shows strong antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ of 11.28 ± 0.24 µg/mL.

Molecular docking suggests several metabolites, including aucubin and phenolics, interact favorably with COX-2 and 5-LOX.

Abstract

Coriolopsis gallica, a medicinal macrofungus, was collected from a decaying hardwood trunk in Constantine, Algeria.

C. gallica was investigated to explore its chemical composition and biological activities.

Morphological analysis confirmed characteristic features of C. gallica and GC-MS and in silico analyses were performed.

Chemical profiling revealed that the volatile fraction was dominated by benzyl benzoate (16.6%), and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (14.4%), while the non-volatile fraction was primarily lactose (90.6%) with notable aucubin (4.3%), a bioactive iridoid glycoside. Fatty acid analysis indicated high content of linoleic acid (79.0%) and oleic acid (11.8%), suggesting potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. The ethanolic extract demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in the DPPH assay (IC₅₀ = 11.28 ± 0.24 µg/mL) and moderate anti-denaturation activity (IC₅₀ = 6.75 ± 0.5 mg/mL), consistent with the presence of bioactive metabolites. Molecular docking analyses of all identified metabolites against COX-2 and 5-LOX revealed a range of predicted binding affinities and interaction patterns, with several fatty acids, including linoleic and oleic acids, showing favorable docking scores, while aucubin and phenolic compounds exhibited complementary hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. These in silico results provide comparative, hypothesis-generating insights that complement the in vitro antioxidant and anti-denaturation assays.

Overall, the combined chemical, biological, and computational analyses highlight Coriolopsis gallica as a promising natural source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory relevance, supporting its interest in early-stage natural product research.

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