Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the antimicrobial, cytotoxic and phytotoxic activities of the organic extract of Rhizopus stolonifer whole cell static culture in order to determine the presence of potentially bioactive compounds in the culture.Methods: The organic extract was obtained by extracting the whole cell culture of R. stolonifer with Ethyl Acetate (EtOAc). The antifungal activity was determined by inhibitory effect on the growth of Alternaria alternate, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia protuberata and Fusarium oxysporum, cytotoxic activity by brine shrimp lethality test, antibacterial activity against Ervinia carotovora and Xanthomonas campestris by disc diffusion technique, and phytotoxic activity by testing the crude extract against theLemna minor frond.Results: The extract showed phytotoxic activity (at 95% level of significance) against Lemna minor (67.7 % lethality) with Fronds Inhibition (FI50) of 167.85 ìg mL-1. The extract exhibited a significant (at 95% level of significance) cytotoxic activity (LC50 of 115.71 ìg mL-1) against brine shrimp. Maximum mortality (56.7 %) was obtained at a concentration of 200 ìg mL-1 concentration after 48 h. In the antifungal test, the highest inhibitory effect was observed against Fusarium oxysporum (88.8 %)followed by Alternaria alternata (81.5 %), Aspergillus flavus (70.5 %) and Curvularia protuberata (37.5 %) at 1000 ìg. mL-1 when compared to negative reference. Antibacterial activity against Ervinia carotovora and Xanthomonas campestris was minimal even at extract level of 2000 ìg mL-1.Conclusion: The ethyl acetate extract of R. stolonifer possesses significant herbicidal, cytotoxic and antifungal properties. Isolation and characterization is required for structural elucidation of its bioactivecompounds.Keywords: Rhizopus stolonifer, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Phytotoxicity, Cytotoxicity.
Highlights
Various species in nature are capable of producing diverse class of natural compounds in the form of secondary metabolites
* the EtOAc extract from mycelial culture of R. stolonifer, **
The results of the present study suggest R. stolonifer extract contains metabolites that can be useful for fungicide development but lack antibacterial properties
Summary
Various species in nature are capable of producing diverse class of natural compounds in the form of secondary metabolites. Some of the metabolites possess useful biochemical activities such as phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity, nematocidal and antimicrobial properties. In the last few decades, it has been observed that fungi are excellent source of potent bioactive secondary metabolites. Fungi and fungal metabolites can be used in a beneficial manner, for example, medicinal uses, fermentation processes, phytotoxic activity against weeds and antimicrobial applications [3]. Our aim is to isolate bioactive compounds from native fungal species of Pakistan to screen them for bioactivities as prospective candidates for potential pharmaceutical or agrochemical applications. The present study is, designed to screen the ethyl acetate extract of the whole cell culture of Rhizopus stolonifer for bioassays including antimicrobial, phytotoxic and cytotoxic activities
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