Antioxidant and NF-κB inhibitory constituents isolated from Morchella esculenta

Morchella esculenta Pers. (Morchellaceae) was investigated for its antioxidant activity by measuring the intracellular reactive oxygen species in HT-29 colon cancer cells. The methylene chloride extract, which showed the highest antioxidant activity, led to the isolation of four fungal sterols, 1-4, and trilinolein (5), in addition to methyl myristate (6), 1-linoleoylglycerol (7), and ceramide (8). The isolated compounds were identified through the analysis of various spectroscopic methods. In the hydroxyl radical assay, 5-dihydroergosterol exhibited significant antioxidant activity. All compounds isolated were also tested using an enzyme-based Elisa NF-κB assay. Fungal sterols and trilinolein showed significant inhibition of NF-κB activation in the NF-κB assay.