Abstract The oxidation process is essential for living organisms for energy production. However, it has been shown that free radicals generated in large quantities can activate proangiogenic factors and be involved in many human diseases such as cancers. Thus, in this work, the antioxidant activities of water, water-ethanol and ethanol extracts of three fungi of Gabon were tested by measuring the trapping power of the DPPH radical. The anti-angiogenic activity was evaluated for some aqueous extracts by chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) method. The results obtained for the DPPH trapping test showed that the various extracts tested had antioxidant activities going from low to very high. Daedaleopsis nitida, Pycnoporus sanguineus and Phellinus gilvus fungi exhibited very strong antioxidant activities. The aqueous extracts tested for their anti-angiogenic activity acted by decreasing the density and / or number of blood vessels of the CAM with inhibition percentages of 66.66%, 54.55% and 37% for Phellinus gilvus, Daedaleopsis nitida and Pycnoporus sanguineus, respectively. Thus, angiogenesis can be neutralized by the antioxidant molecules contained in the fungi, but these molecules are not the only ones to possess these potentialities. Harvested mushrooms could be potential agents for the fight against cancer.
Keywords Cancer, antioxidant activity, anti-angiogenic activity, phenolic compounds, CAM, fungi.