Abstract
A total of 51 sponges (Porifera) and 13 ascidians (Chordata) were collected on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) and extracted with organic solvents. The resulting extracts were screened for antibacterial activity against four multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens: the Gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the organic extracts of each marine organism were determined using a broth microdilution assay. Extracts of eight of the species, in particular the Agelas citrina and Haliclona (Rhizoniera) curacaoensis, displayed activity against some of the pathogens tested. Some of the extracts showed similar MIC values to known antibiotics such as penicillins and aminoglycosides. This study is the first to carry out antimicrobial screening of extracts of marine sponges and ascidians collected from the Yucatan Peninsula. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the active extracts from the sponges Amphimedon compressa and A. citrina displayed, as a preliminary result, that an inseparable mixture of halitoxins and amphitoxins and (-)-agelasine B, respectively, are the major compounds responsible for their corresponding antibacterial activities. This is the first report of the antimicrobial activity of halitoxins and amphitoxins against major multidrug-resistant human pathogens. The promising antibacterial activities detected in this study indicate the coast of Yucatan Peninsula as a potential source of a great variety of marine organisms worthy of further research.
Highlights
The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is the area where the great Mayan culture became established and developed
We report the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of 64 organic extracts from marine invertebrate species collected along the coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula, selected on the basis of chemotaxonomic criteria
The bacterial pathogens A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and S. aureus were used as test strains in this study because they form part of the ESKAPE group, recognised as some of the most clinically relevant nosocomial pathogens
Summary
The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is the area where the great Mayan culture became established and developed. There are important drawbacks associated with the use of colistin, including high nephrotoxicity, poor distribution in cerebrospinal fluid and lung, and rapidly increasing resistance rates [7] Under these circumstances, the need for new therapeutic options for the treatment of multi-resistant pathogen infections is indisputable. The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, which meet in the Yucatan channel, constitute two outstanding marine ecosystems This particular geographical location promotes the existence of a high diversity and abundance of different marine species, which represent a potential source of bioactive compounds and food [20]. We report the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of 64 organic extracts from marine invertebrate species collected along the coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula, selected on the basis of chemotaxonomic criteria. Two of the active sponge extracts were further fractionated and the major compounds responsible for the antimicrobial activity were isolated
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