Antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of three Turkish marine-derived fungi

Abstract

Abstract Background Marine-derived fungi are appraised as a favorable source for discovering new bioactive secondary metabolites. In the last few decades researchers have concentrated on marine-derived fungi to obtain new and pharmaceutically active bioactive secondary metabolites with therapeutic potential. Objective In this study three marine-derived fungi were isolated and identified from marine invertebrates and investigated with regard to their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Materials and methods DPPH, SO, NO, and ABTS assays were used for monitoring free radical scavenging activity, and the MTT assay was used for testing cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 colon cancer cells. Results According to the obtained results Malassezia restricta extract was shown to have the highest antioxidant and cytotoxic activities compared to the other tested fungi strains. Conclusion This study is the first report about the antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of Acremonium sclerotigenum, Aspergillus flavus, and M. restricta. This serves as a valuable preliminary study for activity-guided isolation of secondary metabolites.