Antimicrobial and Nutritional Properties of Edible Oyster Mushroom ( Pleurotus ostreatus ) Extracts Against Foodborne Pathogens Relevant to Maternal and Child Malnutrition in Africa

ABSTRACT

Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) is an edible mushroom with nutritional value and potential antimicrobial constituents, making it relevant to food‐quality research and to future maternal and child nutrition strategies in settings where diet quality and enteric infections intersect. This exploratory laboratory‐based experimental study assessed the antibacterial activity, nutritional composition, tentative chemical profile, and in silico target interactions of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of P. ostreatus obtained from Somalia. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts were evaluated by agar diffusion against Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Salmonella enterica , Shigella flexneri , and Listeria monocytogenes ; MIC/MBC and time‐kill assays were performed for selected isolates. Nutritional composition was determined by standard proximate procedures; iron and zinc were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry; bioactive compounds were tentatively profiled by GC–MS using spectral‐library matching; and selected compounds were explored by molecular docking. At 200 mg/mL, the ethanolic extract produced inhibition zones of 18.2 ± 0.8 mm against S. aureus , 16.0 ± 0.7 mm against E. coli , 14.2 ± 0.6 mm against S. enterica , 13.0 ± 0.5 mm against S. flexneri , and 12.7 ± 0.3 mm against L. monocytogenes . MIC values for the ethanolic extract ranged from 20 to 40 mg/mL and MBC values ranged from 40 to 80 mg/mL for the organisms subjected to broth testing, indicating measurable but limited potency for a crude extract. Nutritional analysis showed 25.0% protein, 12.0% crude fiber, 45.2% carbohydrate, 15.0 mg/100 g iron, and 3.0 mg/100 g zinc on a dry‐weight basis. GC–MS tentatively identified phenol, 2,4‐bis (1,1‐dimethylethyl)‐ as the dominant annotated peak (18.4%), but compound assignment was based on library matching only. P. ostreatus is a nutritionally relevant edible mushroom with moderate in vitro antibacterial effects and exploratory chemical‐docking signals. Its relevance to maternal and child health should be interpreted as a food‐quality and dietary‐diversification rationale requiring future bioavailability, safety, and intervention studies.