Antimycobacterial and cytotoxic activities of extracts from fungal isolates of Lake Magadi

Abstract

In this study, antimycobacterial and cytotoxic activities of ethyl acetate extracts of fungal isolates from Lake Magadi were evaluated. The extracts were tested against Mycobacterium madagascariense (MM) and M. indicus pranii (MIP), and cytotoxicity against brine shrimp (Artemia salina) larvae. Fungal strains were identified using sequence comparison of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Potent antimycobacterial activities against MM were exhibited by extracts from Volutella colletotrichoides, Helicoon richonis, Penicillium limosum, P. sacculum, Aspergillus parasiticus and A. nomius strains that exhibited minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) in the range of 0.19 – 12.5 mg/mL. On the other hand, significant antimycobacterial effects against MIP was shown by extracts from V. colletotrichoides, H. richonis, A. parasiticus, Fusarium merismoides, A. silvaticus and A. fumigatus strains in the same MIC range. Notable cytotoxic activities of the extracts were from A. versicolor, A. nomius, P. janthinellum and H. richonis strains with LC50 values ranging from 46.60 – 98.12 μg/mL. These results indicate that fungi inhabiting Lake Magadi have the ability to produce bioactive metabolites that could be further explored for potential medicinal agents.