Research Articles

2016  |  Vol: 2(4)  |  Issue: 4 (July- August)

Antimicrobial metabolites from Macrofungi species in Northern Samar


Karina Milagros C. Lim3,4Abel Alejandro U. Flores, Jr1,4, Ma. Lourdes C. Alvarez3,4, Franklin E. Cortez2,4, Blenah O. Perez1,4, Felisa L. Sanico3,4, Ma. Judy M. Somoray3,4, Manuela Cecille G. Vicencio1,4

1Department of Biological Sciences

 2Department of Environmental Science,                            

 3Department of Physical Sciences, College of Science                                                   

 4Research Office University of Eastern Philippines, 6400 Catarman N. Samar, Philippines

Address for Corresponding Author

Dr. Karina Milagros C. Lim

Department of Physical Sciences, College of Science                                                   

Research Office University of Eastern Philippines, 6400 Catarman N. Samar, Philippines


Abstract

Objective: In this study, macrofungi utilized for medicine in Northern Samar were documented and identified.  Materials and methods: Phytochemical screening was done in this work, like flavonoids, saponin, tocopherols, phenolics, tannin, steroid and ascorbic acid. The antimicrobial potential of macrofungi species was also conducted in this study using paper disc method. Results: Results showed that at least 28 macrofungi species were identified belonging to two divisions, the Basidiomycota and Ascomycota having 10 classes, 16 orders and 26 families but only 4 species were traditionally used for food.  The results gathered in this study showed that Trametes hirsute, a wild macrofungi species strongly inhibit the growth of S. aureus and E. coli.  Conclusion: This research would promote the use of macrofungi leading to a new generation of product medicinal values. 

Keywords: Macrofungi utilization, Northern Samar, antimicrobial metabolites


Introduction

Different communities in Northern Samar, Philippines, utilize certain local and wild wild mushrooms for medicine, but such indigenous knowledge is poorly documented and unsystematically recorded.  Claims of their efficacy in treating certain ailments need to be scientifically verified prior to their acceptance or adoption.  It is therefore important to know and correctly identify these macrofungi species (Barros et. al., 2008).

Given the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance, novel and effective antibiotics are imperative.  Fungi have been proposed to possess a closer genetic relationship to animals than to plants thus, they share common infective agents such as E. coli and S. aureus, presenting the potential of producing metabolites with pharmacological activity in humans (Sartal and Alonso, 2013).

Microfungi, on the one hand, are established sources of antibiotic compounds, such as penicillin and amoxicillin.  Macrofungi, on the other hand, have scarcely been studied, and only a few bioactive compounds have been isolated.  Nevertheless, they have demonstrated significant pharmacological activity, like anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal activities (Minter and Kruk, 2012). This study therefore, aims to document the utilization of macrofungi species as medicine.  Here, we report on the antimicrobial activity of macrofungi species- Trametes hirsute found in Northern Samar. 

Materials and methods

A.    Inventory

The identification of the municipalities of Northern Samar for survey purposes was based on geographic location (distribution) and accessibility.  Barangay officials were present during all visits, and formatted interviews of individuals utilizing a specially prepared questionnaire.  Wherever possible, or available, macrofungi samples were photographed and collected, and any additional information or data not covered by the questionnaire were recorded.  Collected specimens were brought back to the College of Science, University of Eastern Philippines, for further taxonomic verification.

B. Standards and reagents

All the reagents were of analytical grade purity.

C. Antimicrobial Testing (Paper Disc Method)

Each microorganism was streak on a petri dish with culture media in such a manner that the entire surface of the media was streaked.  Two petri dishes were prepared for each microorganism, one labelled as standard drug and the other labeled as extract.   On the dish labelled standard drug, three (3) disc of antibiotic (Penicillin for S. aureus and Ciprofloxacin for E. coli) for specific microorganism was equally placed in a circular arrangement and was incubated for 24 hours. On the dish labeled extract, 3 blank disc dipped in pure extract was placed in the same manner as of the standard drug and was incubated for 24 hours.  The zone of inhibition in millimetre was measured on the following day using a ruler.

Results and discussion

The collection of the macrofungi revealed, that in the different municipalities in Northern Samar, Philippines there were 28 species of macrofungi recorded but four (4) species were locally considered or known as edible by the local residents, namely: Schizophyllum commune locally known as kurakdot, Cantharellus cibarius locally known by the villagers as banay, Auricularia polytricha locally known as taingang daga, and Inocybe rimosa locally known as ligbos.  These 4 species were considered edible mostly by the majority of the municipalitiesKnowledge and utilization of the various species of fungi varied greatly between municipalities.  Based on the result of the interviews, Trametes hirsute, a macrofungi species were locally considered or known to different communities used as medicine.  Picture of the collected and identified macrofungi species is presented in Figure 1.  

Table 1. Antimicrobial testing of standard drug and extract against test organisms

 

Microorganisms

 

Zone of inhibition

Standard Drug

Macrofungi extract

(Trametes hirsute)

S. aureus

23 mm

21 mm

E. coli

20 mm

18 mm

Figure 1.  Picture of the Trametes hirsute species of Northern Samar, Philippines

 

Ethanolic extracts of Trametes hirsute were dried and then partitioned into aqueous and ethyl acetate soluble metabolites which is evaluated for its antimicrobial activity against E.coli and S. aureus.  Based on the antimicrobial results showed in Table 1 using paper disc method of macrofungi pure extract (Trametes hirsute), the zone of inhibition for E. coli is 21 mm and for S. aureus is 18 mm.  The result implies that the extract has an antimicrobial property comparable to the standard drug.  The zone of inhibition produced a significant effect on inhibiting the growth of microorganism and was able to meet the zone of inhibition of the standard drug.  The table below shows the comparison between the standard drug and the macrofungi extract against the two test microorganisms.

Figure 2.  Pictures of the antimicrobial testing using paper disc method: (A & B) Standard drug; (C) S. aureus using Trametes hirsute extract; (D) E. coli using Trametes hirsute extract

 

Conclusion

In this work, we have reported an identification and evaluation of the macrofungi species in different Municipalities in Northern Samar for antimicrobial properties.  This study presents idea about the different uses of the various species of macrofungi varied greatly between municipalities.  Based on the results obtained, the presence of antimicrobial property of the macrofungi extract was confirmed.  The results of this study might be the basis that unknown macrofungi can be used directly to promote health advantage.

Recommendations

It is further recommended that researches and experimentations on the isolation and identification of the active component of the extract, and the toxicity analysis of the wild macrofungi be conducted.  Further studies would surely be a great contribution to our local food and pharmaceutical industries.

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to the University of Eastern Philippines, Office of Research and Development Services, for the financial support given for this work.

References

Barros L, Cruz T, Baptista P, Ferreira I. 2008. New pigment from Cartonarius species.  Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46: 2742-2747.

Lee S, Chang YS. 2009. Inventory, Classification of macrofungi species.  Forest Ecology and Management,  257: 2062-2065.

May T, Donner C, Beattie K. 2010. Antimicrobial metabolites from Australian macrofungi from the genus Cortinarius. Phytochemistry,  71: 948-955.

Minter D, Kruk A. 2012. A phylogenetic classification of different macrofungi. Fungal Biology, 116: 995-1002.

Sartal C, Alonso M. 2013. Toxins of different macrofungi species. Microchemical,  108: 92-99.

Yildiz A, Yesil O. 2005. Study of macrofungi species as sources of nutritional and nutrateutical. Food Chemistry, 89: 605-609.

Manuscript Management System
Submit Article Subscribe Most Popular Articles Join as Reviewer Email Alerts Open Access
Our Another Journal
Another Journal
Call for Paper in Special Issue on

Call for Paper in Special Issue on