Investigating a Medicinally Important Novel Species of Termitomyces From the Lateritic Region of West Bengal

A new species, Termitomyces pseudopakistanensis, has been described from West Bengal, an often-overlooked myco-resource, despite its rich historical significance as a valuable food source. Surprisingly, it remains underappreciated in urban markets. Thus, the focus was on examining the taxon's potential health advantages to preserve indigenous culture and promote the use of locally accessible functional food. Mycochemical analysis has shown the presence of bioactive components, including lycopene, beta-carotene, flavonoids, and phenol. In addition, the ethanolic extract demonstrated strong antioxidant, iron-chelating, reducing, and anti-lipid peroxidation properties in the antioxidative assays, with an EC₅₀ value ranging from 658.66 to 1845.079 µg/mL. The extract showed antimicrobial properties as depicted by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging between 620.088 and 1528.773 µg/mL. Alkaloids, amino acid derivatives, and other secondary metabolites with substantial bioactivities are detected using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Furthermore, the cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of the extract were investigated in the A549 cell line through a cell viability assay and other staining assays.