# Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Cosmeceutical Potential of Four Common Edible Mushrooms
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Incorporation of _A. bisporus Extract into a Cosmetic Cream_
#### 3.5.1 Stability Tests of a Cosmetic Cream Containing _A. bisporus_ Extract  
To ensure the quality and safety of the creams, stability studies, which consist of subjecting the samples to different conditions, were performed. Accordingly, the creams were assessed by testing at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C, 25 \({}^{\circ}\)C, and 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 30 days and under four alternating heating and cooling cycles (one cycle corresponds to 24 h at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C and then 24 h at 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C). All the potential alterations in the characteristics of the formulations between the pre- and post-assays were recorded in terms of visual color and texture, phase separation, and pH (Table 6). The results showed that both creams (FD and AB) were stable and maintained the initial characteristics after the thermal stability tests, with no phase separation or pH variations. Likewise, the color, homogeneity, and odor of the creams remained unchanged. Therefore, the formulations were considered stable.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Mushrooms** & **0.1 mg DE/mL** & **1.0 mg DE/mL** & **10.0 mg DE/mL** & **IC\({}_{50}\) (mg DE/mL)** \\ \hline _A. bisporus_ & 6.2 \(\pm\) 1.9\% B; c & 14.7 \(\pm\) 1.2\% AB; b & 39.9 \(\pm\) 2.6\% A; a & 13.2 \(\pm\) 1.4 a \\ _B. edulis_ & 12.9 \(\pm\) 2.4\% B; b & 16.1 \(\pm\) 2.0\% AB; b & 23.3 \(\pm\) 3.7\% A; bc & 36.6 \(\pm\) 15.9 ab \\ _L. edodes_ & 15.2 \(\pm\) 1.4\% B; b & 16.6 \(\pm\) 3.3\% AB; ab & 18.8 \(\pm\) 1.8\% A; c & 93.7 \(\pm\) 36.4 bc \\ _P. ostreatus_ & 20.0 \(\pm\) 1.7\% B; a & 20.2 \(\pm\) 1.6\% B; a & 24.1 \(\pm\) 1.4\% A; b & 71.7 \(\pm\) 27.7 bc \\ \hline \end{tabular} All the assays were carried out in triplicate, and the results were expressed as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=3\)). For each concentration (column), the differences among the species were verified using the Mann-Whitney U test considering a significance level of \(p<0.05\). Different lowercase letters report significant differences between different mushroom species. Different uppercase letters report significant differences between different concentrations for each mushroom (row) at \(p<0.05\), according to the Kruskal–Wallis multiple comparison test. DE, dry extract.  
\end{table}
Table 5: Anti-tyrosinase activity of the ethanolic extracts from four edible mushrooms (0.1–10.0 mg DE/mL) expressed in percentage (%) of inhibition and IC\({}_{50}\) values expressed in mg DE/mL.  
5.2. Phenolic Contents and In Vitro Antioxidant Capacity of a Cosmetic Cream Containing _A. bisporus_ Extract  
The biological properties of the creams, including the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity (by the DPPH assay), were evaluated. For this, the samples (FD and AB) were assessed 24 h after the production of the formulations (Table 7). The considerable difference between these values and those previously obtained for TPC and DPPH are due to the dilution of the extract in the cream. The results showed that both total phenol contents and antioxidant activity were significantly higher (_p_ < 0.01) in the cream containing the extract of _A. bisporus_ compared to the foundation. Thus, adding _A. bisporus_ extract considerably improved the antioxidant potential of the cream, a very desirable property in the cosmetic industry that has been experiencing an increasing demand for natural antioxidants [67].