ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THE METABOLITES OF ASPERGILLUS CHEVALIERI AND TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM

Abstract

Objective: This study sought to preliminarily investigate the inhibitory effect of metabolites of Aspergillus chevalieri and Trichoderma harzianum on a number of pathogenic bacteria. Methods: The agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the antimicrobial activity of the fungal metabolites. The test microorganisms were Enterococcus faecalis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: Both metabolites had broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. All the test organisms were susceptible to the A. chevalieri metabolites except for S. typhi. Both S. typhi and E. faecalis were however not susceptible to T. harzianum metabolites. P. aeruginosa was highly susceptible to both metabolites with the highest zone of inhibition of 26 mm for the stock metabolite. This activity was comparable to the standard, 10 µg/ml of ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: Metabolites of A. chevalieri and T. harzianum exhibited broad-spectrum activity, and this can be exploited as a source for novel antibiotics.