Solid fermentation of medicinal herb using Phellinus baumii mycelium and anti-thrombin and anti-oxidation activity of its methanol extract

To produce bioactivity-strengthen medicinal herbs, the 36 medicinal herbs which have antioxidation or blood circulation activity, were solid fermented using Phellinus baumii mycelium. Most of medicinal herbs, except Chrysanthemum indicum (flower), Zizyphus jujuba Miller (fructus), Aconitum koreanum R. Raymond (root), Magnolia denudata (flower), and Polygonatum sibiricum Redt (root bark), showed good fermentation at 25°C for 20 days under 90% of relative humidity. The poor fermentations of the herbs could be explained by lack of nutrient, structural rigidity, and the content of antifungal substance. After fermentation, the average water content of herbs were increased to 67.21±11.43% from 30.84±15.67%, but the average pH and average methanol extraction ratio were slightly decreased to 11.16±7.06% and 4.83±0.73 from 13.91±12.22% and 5.06±0.87, respectively. The analysis of thrombin inhibition and DPPH scavenging activity of the methanol extracts of herbs showed that thrombin inhibition activities of the fermented Drynaria fortunei Kunze, Melia azedarach var. japonica, Prunus persica and Orostachys japonicus, and DPPH scavenging activities of the fermented Polygala tenuifolia, Scrophularia buergeriana, Angelica dahurica, Drynaria fortunei Kunze, Cyperus rotundus, and Boschniakia rossica were increased as compared with those activities of non-fermented its cognate herbs. Our results suggest that the production of bioactivity-strengthen medicinal herbs is possible by solid fermentation of Phellinus baumii mycelium, as fermented Drynaria fortunei Kunze showed increased antioxidant and thrombin inhibitory activities than those of non-fermented herbs.