EXTRACTION, ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY METABOLITES OF THE BASIDIOMYCETE PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS (Jacq.) P. KUMM., 1871, USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES COUPLED WITH MASS SPECTROMETRY AND THEIR POSSIBLE USE FOR HUMAN HEALTH

Oxidative stress is one of the main causes of premature cellular aging which can be at the origin of numerous acute or chronic diseases that arise with age. New natural sources of molecules with powerful antioxidant properties are one of the possible solutions in the formulation of antioxidant preparations for protective and anti-aging purposes. As harvested fungi are an evergrowing industry the characterization of their primary and secondary metabolites and their experimentation on cell cultures are fundamental prerequisites for the identification and subsequent experimentation of molecules of cosmetological, pharmaceutical and / or nutraceurtic interest. The aim of this work was the development of a liquid chromatography method at high pressure / performance coupled with mass spectrometry that allowed the simultaneous analysis of as many primary and secondary metabolites extracted from Pleurotus ostreatus as possible. The metabolites identified were tested on cell cultures to highlight their possible cytotoxicity and their possible applications for human health.