Cellular Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Morchella conica Pers. Polyphenols in vitro

This study analyzed the cellular antioxidant and antiproliferative activities, as well as the phenolic composition of three Morchella conica Pers. cultures. Results showed that the free phenolic contents of the three Morchella conica Pers. ranged from 4.928 to 6.157 mg GAE/g DW and their bound phenolic contents ranged from 0.188 to 0.250 mg GAE/g DW. Polyphenols in M. conica Pers. were dominated by phenolic acids, particularly for gallic acid. The free phenolic extracts exhibited higher cellular antioxidant activity than the bound phenolic extracts. Free phenolics in M. conica Pers. cultured from Yunnan China showed the highest antiproliferative activity against HepG2 cells, whereas bound phenolics in M. conica cultured from Tibet China showed the highest antiproliferative activity. Results confirmed that Morchella conica Pers. (growing in Yunnan China especially) could be a new source of natural antioxidant and a potential inhibitor for the growth of HepG2 cells.