New Study by a University of Benghazi Researcher Reveals the Promising Pharmaceutical Potential of Oyster Mushrooms

A researcher at the University of Benghazi has achieved a new scientific milestone by publishing a research paper in the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia (BCSE), an international peer-reviewed journal indexed in Scopus (Q3) and Web of Science (SCIE).

The paper is entitled

“Identification of Phenolic Constituents and Tissue-Specific Biological Activities of the Edible Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus: Evidence from In Vitro and Computational Studies.”

Professor Marei Al-Ajaily, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry, co-authored the paper with a team of researchers as part of a scientific collaboration involving local and international academic institutions. This collaboration reflects the importance of multidisciplinary research partnerships in advancing scientific output and enhancing the quality of published research.

The study investigated wild Libyan Pleurotus ostreatus to evaluate its phenolic content and biological activities using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It also employed computational methods based on density functional theory (DFT) and molecular docking.

The findings revealed that the mushroom cap contained higher concentrations of phenolic compounds and exhibited greater antioxidant activity, while the stem demonstrated stronger anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.

The study also found that the mushroom extracts exhibited selective activity against liver cancer cells, with limited effects on normal cells. These findings underscore the mushroom’s potential as a natural source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical and food applications.

The full research paper is available in the published article in the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia:

https://doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v40i10.15