Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties of extracted Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor Lloyd) mushroom components microencapsulated with inulin.

The stability, interactions, and bioaccessibility of bioactive components modify the potential functionality of newly developed inulin-based microcapsules containing polysaccharide (PF) and ethanol-extractable fractions (EEF) of turkey tail. The microencapsulation process achieved high encapsulation efficiency (>75 %), producing powders characterised by low water activity (<0.2) and finer particle size when mushroom fractions were incorporated (D50 < 4 μm). Chemical extracts from the encapsulated EEF effectively inhibited the activities of lipoxygenase (720 kIU/g d.w.), cyclooxygenase-1 (97 kIU/g d.w.), and xanthine oxidase (1.7 mIU/g d.w.). Simulated digestion effectively released compounds, especially those inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 activity (10-fold increase compared to the chemical extracts). Among the cancer cell lines treated, the most sensitive were the HT-29 cells. Importantly, combining PF and EEF in microcapsules generally produced antagonistic effects on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties. FT-IR analysis confirmed structural modifications and interactions between microcapsule components. These findings emphasise the need to optimise blend composition to maximise powder functionality.