Chemical Characterization and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Properties of the Wild Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum Growing in Northern Moroccan Forests

Ganoderma lucidum is an extensively famous medicinal mushroom distributed worldwide. Despite being widely grown in Moroccan forests, there are no studies on its nutritional, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical values. Herein, the objective of this study was to investigate the chemical characterization and antimicrobial properties of G. lucidum methanolic extract. Total phenolic, flavonoid, tannin, ascorbic acid and carotenoid contents were determined by spectrophotometry. The results revealed that the most prevalent bioactive compounds were phenolics and flavonoids, with total values of 154.60 mg GAE/g of dry methanolic extract (dme) and 60.55 mg CE/mg of dme, respectively. A GC–MS analysis identified 80 biologically active molecules, which were mainly divided into the following major groups: sugars (49.49%), organic acids (8.89%), fatty acids (7.75%), amino acids (7.44%), steroids (7.32%), polyphenols (5.92%), and others (13.16%). Additionally, 22 individual phenolic compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC–MS, with emphasis on kaempferol (1714 µg/g of dry weight (dw)), apigenin (1955 µg/g dw) and quercetin (947.2 µg/g dw). The methanolic extract of G. lucidum indicated strong antioxidant capacity by means of the following: DPPH radical-scavenging activity (53.7 µg/mL), β-carotene/linoleate assay (43.75 µg/mL), and reducing power assay (76.62 µg/mL). Furthermore, the extract exhibited potent antimicrobial properties against seven human pathogenic microorganisms, including two bacteria and five fungal strains, at concentrations ranging from 1 to 16 mg/mL. The most sensitive pathogen was Epidermophyton floccosum (MIC = MFC = 1 mg/mL), while Aspergillus fumigatus was the most resistant one (MIC = 16 mg/mL and MFC ≥ 16 mg/mL). Overall, our findings demonstrated valuable nutritional and bioactive compound attributes, and potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, of G. lucidum growing in Moroccan forests. Moreover, these findings suggest that the Moroccan mushroom can be extremely useful for the food and medicinal industries to positively affect socioeconomic status.