Abstract
Context: Nigerian soil fungi population is unexplored. It is hypothesized that they harbour new bioactive chemicals. This hypothesis is based on the large percentage of currently approved medicines that originated from soil-inhabiting micro-organismsObjectives: To investigate the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of Fusarium solani ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract selected based on its broad spectrum of antimicrobial potential in an overlay experiment with seven other soil fungi strains.Materials and methods: Fungus number 6 (F6), identified by molecular characterization as Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc (Nectriaceae) was selected for studies from eight purified soil fungi due to its superior broad-spectrum antibiotics producing potential following agar overlay experiment. F6 was fermented for 21 d and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of its EtOAc fermentation extract (dose range: 12.5–100 µg/mL) was determined using agar dilution method for Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and anti-inflammatory properties determined using rat-paw (250–500 mg/kg) and xylene induced oedema (250–500 µg/kg) (in Swiss albino rats and mice) models, respectively. The ability of the extract to inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme was also determined in vitro using Cayman test kit-760111.Result: The MIC of the EtOAc extract was <12.5 µg/mL for S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. It inhibited xylene induced oedema by 65% compared with 61% observed for diclofenac and was significantly (p < 0.05) better than diclofenac in rat-paw-oedema model within the first phase of inflammation. The extract inhibited COX-1 peroxidase-mediated activities with an IC50 below 5 µg/mL.Conclusions: The extract exhibited strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, warranting further investigations into therapeutic potential of this fungus. This study design can be adapted in soil fungi metabolomic investigations. We report for the first time the potent anti-inflammatory property of the ethyl acetate extract of soil strain of F. solani with a possible mechanism of action that involves the inhibition of COX enzyme.
Highlights
The serendipitous discovery of penicillin from Penicillium notatum Westling (Trichocomaceae) heralded an era of anti-infective discovery from microbial sources
This hypothesis is based on the large percentage of currently approved medicines that originated from soil-inhabiting micro-organisms Objectives: To investigate the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of Fusarium solani ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract selected based on its broad spectrum of antimicrobial potential in an overlay experiment with seven other soil fungi strains
Fungus number 6 (F6) was fermented for 21 d and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of its EtOAc fermentation extract was determined using agar dilution method for Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and anti-inflammatory properties determined using rat-paw (250–500 mg/kg) and xylene induced oedema (250–500 mg/kg) models, respectively
Summary
The serendipitous discovery of penicillin from Penicillium notatum Westling (Trichocomaceae) heralded an era of anti-infective discovery from microbial sources. Other pharmacologically important compounds, such as antilipidemic agents were subsequently discovered from microorganisms. Lovastatin, an antilipidemic compound, was isolated from Aspergillus terreus Thom (Trichocomaceae) (Endo 2010) and its derivatives have been isolated from A. sclerotiorum Huber Sp080903f04 (Phainuphong et al 2016). A link between inflammation and cancer progression has been established (Roxburgh and McMillan 2014) so that compounds with anti-inflammatory properties are proposed to have potential use in cancer treatment and prevention. It is foreseen that the use of anti-inflammatory agents as adjunct therapy will be a common approach in cancer management in clinical practice in the near future (Chan and Detering 2013; Schafer and Kaschula 2014)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
