## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant Activities and Total Phenolic Contents (TPC)  
Methanol was used as the solvent for the extraction, as higher polarity solvents could increase the yield of polar phenolic compounds, leading to higher antioxidant \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**Concentration of Macro Element (mg/kg dw)**} \\ \cline{2-6}  & Sodium & Potassium & Calcium & Magnesium \\ \hline Control & 1.61 \(\times\) 10\({}^{4}\)\(\pm\) 3.551 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 1442.932 \(\pm\) 1.323 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 418.604 \(\pm\) 0.384 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 269.131 \(\pm\) 0.247 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\
5\% WEM & 1.52 \(\times\) 10\({}^{4}\)\(\pm\) 4.450 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 1896.633 \(\pm\) 2.448 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 507.511 \(\pm\) 0.031 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 303.160 \(\pm\) 1.976 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Concentration of Micro Element (mg/kg dw)**} \\ \cline{2-6}  & Iron & Zinc & Manganese & Copper & Chromium & Selenium \\ \hline Control & 61.122 \(\pm\) 0.285 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 8.768 \(\pm\) 0.118 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 7.197 \(\pm\) 0.097 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.234 \(\pm\) 0.070 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 0.262 \(\pm\) 0.004 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 0.174 \(\pm\) 0.004 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\
5\% WEM & 77.584 \(\pm\) 0.195 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 10.475 \(\pm\) 0.218 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 7.281 \(\pm\) 0.151 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 4.215 \(\pm\) 0.088 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 0.255 \(\pm\) 0.005 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 0.141 \(\pm\) 0.003 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Values were expressed as means \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=2\)); dw = dry weight. Different superscripts in the same column were significantly different (\(p<0.05\)).  
\end{table} 
Table 4: The mineral element content of noodles incorporated with WEM and without WEM (control). activity [58, 64]. The phenolic compounds are a large group of secondary metabolites in plants and fungi exhibiting antioxidant activities and oxidation protection [44]. Therefore, the high TPC of a mushroom suggests a higher antioxidant capacity [50, 65]. Based on Table 5, the WEM powder could exhibit antioxidant activities mediated by free radical scavenging abilities and reducing power due to the presence of total phenolic content [58]. The strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity of the extracts indicated the high hydrogen-donating capacity; thus, the DPPH free radicals scavenging [66]. Meanwhile, the FRAP assay demonstrates the ability of the non-enzymatic antioxidant extract associated with the presence of reductone to break the free radical chain by donating an electron to stabilise and terminate the radical chain reactions [28]. The present data demonstrated that the TPC of WEM powder is higher than the value reported in previous studies, such as ethanolic extract of _A. polytricha_ (4.74 mg GAE/g), ethanolic extract of _A. auricula_ (2.75 mg GAE/g) and methanolic extract of _A. thaliana_ (1.99 mgGAE/g) [29, 58, 66]. In addition, the wild edible mushroom has been reported to contain higher phenolic compounds than cultivated mushrooms, as the stressful environment enhanced the production of secondary metabolites [44]. The present study also demonstrated that the incorporated noodles with 5% WEM powder exhibited significantly (\(p<0.05\)) lower IC\({}_{50}\) for DPPH inhibition than the control noodles. The lower IC\({}_{50}\) value reflected the strong DPPH scavenging capacity, but a much lower value has been recorded in another study that incorporated noodles with button mushrooms (0.4 mg/mL) [53]. Meanwhile, the FRAP value for the incorporated noodles was significantly (\(p<0.05\)) higher than the control noodles, indicating a strong reduction capacity. Nevertheless, the improvement of antioxidant capacity in the incorporated instant noodles was due to the increment of TPC, which agrees with past studies but with different mushroom species and functional ingredients [18, 67].