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Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms
Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613944175132672 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Van der Merwe, Breyten |
| author2 | Van Rensburg, Eugene |
| author_browse | Van Rensburg, Eugene Van der Merwe, Breyten |
| author_facet | Van Rensburg, Eugene Van der Merwe, Breyten |
| author_sort | Van der Merwe, Breyten |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135690 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:44:10.803Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135690 Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms Van der Merwe, Breyten Van Rensburg, Eugene Pott, Robert Jacobs, Karin Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Van der Merwe, B. 2026. Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/860e3999-de7b-409d-ba00-e8fd081ad7b1 This study established an initial bioprocess pipeline for producing and extracting bioactive fungal compounds, using two endemic South African mushrooms, Hericium ophelieae and Pleurotus overstrandensis, as case studies. This is the first applied study into these novel species from economically important genera. The bioprocess development encompassed bioprospecting (identification, domestication), upstream (submerged and solid-state fermentation), and downstream (extraction, screening, separation, compound identification, varying cultivation parameters, and comparisons to industry-relevant fungi) stages, providing a model for future bioprospecting studies into local fungi. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses, including microscopy and ITS sequencing, confirmed species identities. Domestication involved culturing mycelium from wild fruiting bodies on potato dextrose agar, and the cultivation of these strains, where P. overstrandensis was able to grow by both submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation, while H. ophelieae was limited to static submerged fermentation, possibly due to host-specific ecology. Hydro-ethanolic extraction of the freeze-dried fermentation biomass and H. ophelieae fruiting bodies yielded 7–26% crude extract (w/w), soluble in water and ethanol. Extracts exhibited selective anti-cancer activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer without cytotoxicity to MCF-12A healthy epithelial breast cells, in contrast to doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic drug. Antioxidant assays revealed high free-radical scavenging capacity, particularly in H. ophelieae mycelium extracts. Size-exclusion chromatography was used to separate bioactive fractions from the crude extracts, where fraction 3 of the H. ophelieae extract and fraction 5 of the P. overstrandensis extract demonstrated significantly more anti-cancer activity than their peers. LC-MS tentatively identified compounds similar to citbismine C, xylobiose, and herbicidin B, with several unmatched peaks suggesting novel structures. Nitrogen supplementation enhanced P. overstrandensis bioactivity. Pleurotus overstrandensis also outperformed the commercially cultivated and previously studied P. ostreatus in anti-cancer and antioxidant assays, while H. ophelieae produced unique compounds when compared to its relative, H. erinaceus, the well-known lion’s mane mushroom. Of the most abundant metabolites produced by both species of Hericium, many were produced at higher concentrations by H. ophelieae. This study highlighted the possibilities these fungi have as sources of bioactive compounds for nutraceutical, therapeutic, and industrial applications, as well as further demonstrating the unexplored potential of local mushroom species. This research represents a promising start to the application of African fungal species as bioprospecting targets. Masters 2026-04-08T06:54:38Z 2026-04-08T06:54:38Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135690 en Stellenbosch University 122 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Van der Merwe, Breyten Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title | Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title_full | Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title_fullStr | Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title_short | Process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic South African mushrooms |
| title_sort | process development for the extraction of bioactive compounds from endemic south african mushrooms |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135690 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vandermerwebreyten processdevelopmentfortheextractionofbioactivecompoundsfromendemicsouthafricanmushrooms |