Cow dung, an excreta of bovine animal, is a cheap and easily available bioresource on our planet. Many traditional uses of cow dung such as burning as fuel, mosquito repellent and as cleansing agent are already known in India. Cow dung harbours a diverse group of microorganisms that may be beneficial to humans due to their ability to produce a range of metabolites. Along with the production of novel chemicals, many cow dung microorganisms have shown natural ability to increase soil fertility through phosphate solubilisation. Nowadays, there is an increasing research interest in developing the applications of cow dung microorganisms for biofuel production and management of environmental pollutants. This review focuses on recent findings being made on cow dung that could be harnessed for usage in different areas such as medicine, agriculture and industry.

Collection of sample:Dung sample of Desi cow breed was collected aseptically from cow shed located in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The sample was analysed immediately after transporting to the laboratory (Gupta and Rana, 2016a).

No abstract

The objective of the present study was to isolate Enterobacter sp. from the faecal matter of cow followed by its screening for antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria having clinical importance. On the basis of morphological and biochemical characterisation of seven isolates obtained from cow dung sample, isolate KD111 was probably identified as Enterobacter sp. and screened for its inhibitory activity against 14 test organisms comprising both Gram-positive and Gram-negative types using cross-streak method, in which both i.e. test organisms and isolates were streaked perpendicularly on nutrient agar plates followed by measurement of inhibition zone between the streaks after incubation. The preliminary screening revealed significant antimicrobial activity of Enterobacter sp. against Salmonella typhi (MTCC 3216), Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 7443) and Bacillus cereus (MTCC 6728) with highest inhibition against Salmonella typhi (MTCC 3216) and Bacillus cereus (MTCC 6728). Our results indicate that Enterobacter sp. may act as a producer of bioactive antimicrobial metabolites and therefore should be analysed further for its possible application as therapeutic agent.

Highlights Isolation and screening of P. aeruginosa from cow dung having antagonistic potential. Molecular characterization of the isolate and thermodynamic stability study. Antimicrobial activity of extracellular crude extract of P. aeruginosa against microorganisms of medical importance. Antioxidant activity of extracellular crude extracts using DPPH scavenging activity. Isolation and characterisation of bioactive compound using HP-TLC, FTIR and GC-MS.