Antifungal activity of selected sea cucumber species from Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines using modified SPOTi assay

Abstract

Abstract. Ereguero MG, Cordero MA, Dalayap R, Tabugo SR. 2022. Antifungal activity of selected sea cucumber species from Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines using modified SPOTi assay. Biodiversitas 23: 6049-6055. Marine organisms have become essential candidates for discovering novel compounds that can be medically and commercially important. They are believed to yield novel compounds with unique chemical structures and significant biological activities since they managed to survive a milieu of pathogenic microorganisms and essential predators. The quest against fungal infections has been challenging due to acquired resistance to commercially available drugs hence, novel sources to treat infectious diseases caused by fungi have been investigated. Sea cucumbers have been recognized in Asian countries as a rich food source. Apart from that, they have also been studied for their medicinal properties. This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of the selected sea cucumber species found in Brgy. Sugod, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines using the modified SPOTi assay. Methanol: ethyl acetate crude extracts of Holothuria scabra, Stichopus sp., and Holothuria atra were tested for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida tropicalis. A 96-well plate assay was used, and the growth of fungi was assessed visually for up to 72hrs. The concentration resulting in ‘no fungal growth’ was observed and taken as the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value. The average MIC was calculated. Results showed that sea cucumber crude extracts have MIC values of 0.0333-0.1 mg/mL. Tukey’s posthoc test confirmed that the antifungal activity of the sea cucumber extracts was comparable to the positive control Fluconazole (p>0.05). The present study revealed a potentially effective natural antifungal agent from sea cucumbers.

Morphological characteristics of sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) from Socah Waters, Bangkalan, Madura

“…Ethyl acetate extracts contain only saponins and triterpenes, resulting in lower antifungal activity compared to methanol extracts. Sea cucumber extracts from Holothuria scabra in Asia exhibit antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal activities [11][12]. Sea cucumbers are known to have good nutritional value for the body.…”

Isolasi dan Evaluasi Aktivitas Antifungi Bakteri Simbion Teripang Pasir (Holothuria scabra) dari Taman Nasional Wakatobi terhadap Malassezia furfur

“…(Pastra and Surbakti, 2012;Samirudin et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2021). Several symbiont bacteria that interact with sand sea cucumbers are able to produce bioactive compounds that have the potential to act as antifungal agents (Chen et al, 2021;Ereguero et al, 2022). These compounds, produced by sea cucumber symbiont bacteria, could potentially be used to treat M. furfur, the fungus that causes tinea versicolor in humans.…”

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“…Several active ingredients include triterpenoids [14], alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, and saponin have antimicrobial properties [15]. Black trepang and curryfish become part of the community's nutrition and have been shown to contain various active substances with antifungal and antibacterial properties [16,17]. Previously, the ability of Holothuria athra or black trepang to act as an antimalarial was investigated using an in silico method against the P. falciparum orotidine 5-monophosphate decarboxylase (PfOMPDC) protein [18].…”