Abstract
Earthworms are the most ancient invertebrate animals on earth which can be used as a good source of pharmaceutical compounds. A study was carried out to find out the distribution of microorganisms in the gut of earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae. Significant number of microbial populations in the gut of earthworm was observed and it was gradually increased from the initial day to final day of composting. Pigmented colonies of bacteria from earthworm gut were selectively isolated, the pigment was extracted from the culture broth and a presumptive test was carried out for the confirmation of prodigiosin. The pigment component was separated using thin layer chromatography and the structural elucidation of the compound was performed using U.V. spectroscopy. The inhibitory effect of prodigiosin on bacterial pathogens was studied and the results confirmed the antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria. The anticancer activity of the prodigiosin pigment was evaluated under in vitro conditions against the breast cancer cell lines and it was observed that prodigiosin induced the apoptosis in MCF-7 cell lines in a dose dependent manner. Then the potential isolate was subjected to morphological and biochemical analysis and it was confirmed that the colonies were of Serratia marcescens. The results obtained from the present study indicated that earthworm gut is promising and could be a vital source of habitat possessing antimicrobial and anticancer activity.
Highlights
Earthworms are the most ancient invertebrate animals on earth and they play a major role in soil biology by providing ideal conditions for the growth of microorganisms
Prodigiosin, a tripyrrole ring pigment synthesized by Serratia marcescens, is a promising drug owing to its reported characteristics of having antibacterial, antimycotic and immunomodulatory activities (Patricia et al, 2000)
The maximum bacterial population was found in the fore gut region than in mid gut and hind gut region
Summary
Earthworms are the most ancient invertebrate animals on earth and they play a major role in soil biology by providing ideal conditions for the growth of microorganisms. Prasanna et al (2014) Isolated the antimicrobial substances producing bacteria, Pseudomonas stutzeri from gut of earthworm (Eisenia foetida) and studied their role against some phytopatogens while promoting plant growth. Aruna et al (2008) isolated a new strain of Streptomyces tritolerance from earthworm gut (Eisenia fetida) and studied their antagonistic activity against plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Four possible mechanisms are suggested attributed to prodigiosins as pH modulators, cell cycle inhibitors, DNA cleavage agents and mitogen activated protein kinase regulators. These molecules when combined with some other anticancer agents can greatly help in fighting cancer. It is proposed that induction of DNA double breaks would be one mechanism and another being neutralization of pH gradient leading to apoptosis (Pandey et al, 2009)
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