Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activity of Aspergillus protuberus SP1 Isolated from Marine Sediments of South Indian Coast

Abstract

Aim To explore the antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the fungi isolated from marine sediments of south India coastal belt. Methods Marine sediments were collected from different coastal locations of Kanyakumari District, South India. Aseptically collected marine sediment samples were serially diluted and cultured using SDA media with seawater under appropriate culture conditions. Antimicrobial activity was confirmed by crowded plate techniques. Antimicrobial activity of marine fungi isolate was evaluated against six human pathogenic bacteria viz., Enterobacter aerogenes., Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae., with different solvents like n-butanol, chloroform, water and acetone. Anticancer activity of the selective fungal extracts was tested against Hep 2 cells using MTT assay. Results Fungus isolated from Muttom coast of south India showed activity against human pathogens. The fungi isolate Aspergillus protuberus SP1 was identified by partial sequence of large subunit ribosomal RNA (GenBank accession No.: HQ 386016). Different polar and non-polar solvent extracts of the marine-derived fungus isolate showed antibacterial activity towards various Gram-positive and Gram-negative human pathogens. The n-butanol extract of mycelium showed maximum inhibition. Based on antibacterial activity, the n-butanol extract was selected for anticancer test against Hep 2 cell line. The n-butanol extract was subjected to column chromatographic separation using different solvent compositions with ethanol : methanol (9 : 1) giving better sepeartion. The fraction was analyzed by GC-MS study showing the presence of nine compounds. Conclusion These results are useful for further investigation of the fungus in the future.