Selected Article of Journal (IMR)

Lignosus spp. is a medicinal mushroom that has been used as a folk remedy for ‘clearing heat’, eliminating phlegm, ‘moistening the lungs’ and as an anti-breast cancer agent. The objective of this study was to identify the active chemical constituents of the mushroom limited number of sample by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and two-dimensional correlation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (2DIR). The sample M26/08 was purchased from a Chinese medicine shop in Kuala Lumpur, while M49/07 and M23/08 were collected from Semenyih and Kuala Lipis respectively. The three samples have strong absorption peaks corresponding to the stretching vibration of conjugated carbonyl C@O group. Both fresh sample M49/07 and M23/08 showed an identical peak of 1655 cm 1, whereby M26/08 contained stretching vibration of 1648 cm 1. The peaks from 1260 cm 1 onwards were assignation of carbohydrate content including saccharides. Spectrum of M26/08 showed region from 1260 cm 1 to 950 cm 1 which was 99.4% similar to M23/08. The chemical constitutes of M26/08 and M23/08 were closely correlated (r = 0.97), whereas the correlation coefficient of M26/08 and M49/07 was 0.94. The use of second derivative and 2DIR spectroscopy enhanced the distinct differences to a more significant level. Although the geographical origin of M26/08 was unknown, its origin was determined by comparing with M49/07 and M23/08. The visual and colorful 2DIR spectra provided dynamic structural information of the chemical components analyzed and demonstrated a powerful and useful approach using the spectroscopy of different samples.