Several steroid derivatives have been isolated and identified from fruit bodies of L. perlatum, including (S)-23-hydroxylanostrol, ergosterol α-endoperoxide, ergosterol 9,11-dehydroendoperoxide and (23E)-lanosta-8,23-dien-3β,25-diol.
The compounds 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-ol, and (Z)-3-octen-1-ol are the predominant components of the volatile chemicals that give the puffball its odor and flavor.
Extracts of the puffball contain relatively high levels of antimicrobial activity against laboratory cultures of the human pathogenic bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with activity comparable to that of the antibiotic ampicillin.
These results corroborate an earlier study that additionally reported antibacterial activity against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Mycobacterium smegmatis.
Extracts of the puffball have also been reported to have antifungal activity against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Verticillium dahliae.
A 2009 study found L. perlatum puffballs to contain cinnamic acid at a concentration of about 14 milligrams per kilogram of mushroom.
The fruit bodies contain the pigment melanin.

The amino acid lycoperdic acid (chemical name 3-(5(S)-carboxy-2-oxotetrahydrofuran-5(S)-yl)-2(S)-alanine) was isolated from the puffball, and reported in a 1978 publication.
Based on the structural similarity of the new amino acid with (S)-glutamic acid, (S)-(+)-lycoperdic acid is expected to have antagonistic or agonistic activity for the glutamate receptor in the mammalian central nervous system.
Methods to synthesize the compounds were reported in 1992, 1995, and 2002.
Several steroid derivatives have been isolated and identified from fruit bodies of L. perlatum, including (S)-23-hydroxylanostrol, ergosterol α-endoperoxide, ergosterol 9,11-dehydroendoperoxide and (23E)-lanosta-8,23-dien-3β,25-diol. The compounds 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-ol, and (Z)-3-octen-1-ol are the predominant components of the volatile chemicals that give the puffball its odor and flavor. Extracts of the puffball contain relatively high levels of antimicrobial activity against laboratory cultures of the human pathogenic bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with activity comparable to that of the antibiotic ampicillin. These results corroborate an earlier study that additionally reported antibacterial activity against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Extracts of the puffball have also been reported to have antifungal activity against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Verticillium dahliae. A 2009 study found L. perlatum puffballs to contain cinnamic acid at a concentration of about 14 milligrams per kilogram of mushroom. The fruit bodies contain the pigment melanin.
The amino acid lycoperdic acid (chemical name 3-(5(S)-carboxy-2-oxotetrahydrofuran-5(S)-yl)-2(S)-alanine) was isolated from the puffball, and reported in a 1978 publication. Based on the structural similarity of the new amino acid with (S)-glutamic acid, (S)-(+)-lycoperdic acid is expected to have antagonistic or agonistic activity for the glutamate receptor in the mammalian central nervous system. Methods to synthesize the compounds were reported in 1992, 1995, and 2002.
Lycoperdon perlatum