Chemical and biological assessment of Alternaria alternata as an endophytic fungus isolated from Thymus vulgaris
Thymus vulgaris is a highly regarded herb known for its wide medicinal and culinary uses. Endophytic fungi, residing harmlessly within plant tissues, have attracted much attention as potential sources of novel bioactive compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical and biological character...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ResearchersLinks, Ltd
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Novel Research in Microbiology Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://nrmj.journals.ekb.eg/article_394769_e0b038932e0975e49e9e2de2077735fb.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Thymus vulgaris is a highly regarded herb known for its wide medicinal and culinary uses.
Endophytic fungi, residing harmlessly within plant tissues, have attracted much attention as
potential sources of novel bioactive compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical
and biological characteristics of Alternaria alternata as an endophytic fungus isolated from
Thymus vulgaris. Alternaria alternata was isolated from Thymus vulgaris leaves and
characterized using morphological and molecular identification techniques. Chemical
characterization of dichloromethane fraction (DCM) of Alternaria alternata was conducted
using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). The biological screenings
revealed anticancer potential of the fungal secondary metabolites, while DCM extract showed
strong antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared
to gentamycin. These findings imply that DCM extract has the potential as an alternative or
complementary antibacterial agent; particularly in situations where antibiotic resistance is a
concern. DCM extract exhibited moderate cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 70 µg/ ml compared to
the more potent Doxorubicin with an IC50 of 10 µg/ ml. This suggests that Alternaria alternata
extract may offer a less aggressive alternative for cancer therapy. Docking results revealed that
key secondary metabolites such as dihydroaltersolanol showed strong binding activity across
multiple bacterial targets; suggesting their broad-spectrum antibacterial potential, while Bicycloalternarene F demonstrated specific high affinity for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme. Alternatone A, tenuazonic acid, and A reductase expressed strong multi-target
antibacterial potential, while Bicycloalternarene F and Alternatone A displayed high binding
affinity to several anticancer targets; particularly those proteins regulating apoptosis and cell
survival. These findings highlighted the potential of these bioactive compounds as effective
anticancer agents and warranting further experimental validation. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2537-0286 2537-0294 |