Chemical profiling and biological activities of the medicinal macrofungus Coriolopsis gallica: volatile, non-volatile, and fatty acid composition with antioxidant and in silico–supported anti-inflammatory properties

Abstract

Coriolopsis gallica, a medicinal macrofungus, was collected from a decaying hardwood trunk in Constantine, Algeria. C. gallica was investigated to explore its chemical composition and biological activities. Morphological analysis confirmed characteristic features of C. gallica and GC-MS and in silico analyses were performed. Chemical profiling revealed that the volatile fraction was dominated by benzyl benzoate (16.6%), and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (14.4%), while the non-volatile fraction was primarily lactose (90.6%) with notable aucubin (4.3%), a bioactive iridoid glycoside. Fatty acid analysis indicated high content of linoleic acid (79.0%) and oleic acid (11.8%), suggesting potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. The ethanolic extract demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in the DPPH assay (IC₅₀ = 11.28 ± 0.24 µg/mL) and moderate anti-denaturation activity (IC₅₀ = 6.75 ± 0.5 mg/mL), consistent with the presence of bioactive metabolites. Molecular docking analyses of all identified metabolites against COX-2 and 5-LOX revealed a range of predicted binding affinities and interaction patterns, with several fatty acids, including linoleic and oleic acids, showing favorable docking scores, while aucubin and phenolic compounds exhibited complementary hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. These in silico results provide comparative, hypothesis-generating insights that complement the in vitro antioxidant and anti-denaturation assays. Overall, the combined chemical, biological, and computational analyses highlight Coriolopsis gallica as a promising natural source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory relevance, supporting its interest in early-stage natural product research.