Antimicrobial activities of fungus comb extracts isolated from Indomalayan termite (Macrotermes gilvus Hagen) mound

Abstract

Incorporating antimicrobial components into food packaging materials can prevent microbial contamination. Fungus combs could be an alternative source of natural antimicrobial agents. In this study, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts were obtained from fungus combs isolated from Indomalayan termite (Macrotermes gilvus Hagen) mound. Their antibacterial and antifungal activities against food spoilage microorganisms including Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosaATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus niger were evaluated by Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion and microdilution. Results showed that ethyl acetate extract formed the largest diameter inhibition zone for all tested bacteria and fungi, exhibited antibacterial activity against all tested bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of 0.39 and 0.78 mg/mL, respectively, and suppressed A. flavus and A. niger with an MIC value of 0.78 mg/mL. This extract contained guaiacol and syringol, which were predicted as the main antimicrobial components in fungus comb. n-Hexane extract only inhibited Gram-positive bacteria. S. aureus ATCC 25923 was the most sensitive to all the extracts, and A. flavus was more sensitive than A. niger. All these fungus comb extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against E. coli ATCC 25922, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853, S. aureus ATCC 25923, A. flavus, and A. niger. This study revealed that fungus comb extracts, especially ethyl acetate, could be considered as a new antimicrobial agent. Graphical Abstract

Designing antimicrobial active packaging films based on chitosan plus fungus comb ethyl acetate extract from Indo-Malayan termite mounds

“…Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) was more sensitive when compared with the other bacteria (Table 1). Similar data were reported by Witasari et al (2022). Grampositive bacterial wall structures allow for more rapid hydrophobic antibacterial agent penetration into the cytoplasm and cell.…”

“…lives in the fungus comb, which means it might have contained substances to eliminate another fungus (Arinana et al 2016). Fungus combs extracted from Indo-Malayan, Macrotermes gilvus, termite mounds using ethyl acetate exhibited antimicrobial and antifungal activities against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria, and Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger fungi (Witasari et al 2022). Fungus comb extraction generated dominant compounds, including glycerol, phenolic compounds (phenol, 2-methoxy, and phenol, 2, 6dimethoxy), and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, which demonstrated antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant and immunomodulator (inflammation-modulating) activities (Nandika et al 2021;Rachmayanti et al 2022;Caesario et al 2023;Nandika et al 2023).…”

Antioxidant Activity of Fungus Comb Extracts Isolated from Indo-Malayan Termite <i>Macrotermes gilvus</i> Hagen (Isoptera: Termitidae)

“…Extracts of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water from the fungus comb (EFC) samples were prepared in a previous study and analyzed for their chemical content [22]. They have also been investigated for their antibacterial and antifungal activity [23]. In this study, the four EFC samples were…”

“…Nandika et al [22] in 2021 have characterized the chemical composition of the fungus comb from the Indonesian termite mound Macrotermes gilvus Hagen (Isoptera: Termitidae) and have reported remarkable bioactivity in the extracts of fungus comb (EFC) in inhibiting the growth of the wood dye fungus Aspergillus foetidus [22]. The same EFC was also confirmed to show bioactivity as an anti-bacterial and an anti-fungal, as reported by Witasari et al [23]. We conducted a study to look at the antioxidant capabilities of the bioactive components from fungus comb to investigate their potential further.…”

Chemical Constituents and Antimicrobial Activity of a Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis.) P. Karst. Aqueous Ammonia Extract

“…2,6-Dimethoxyphenol (syringol) has been identified in various extracts, including Macrotermes gilvus fungus combs (6.5%) [ 48 ], Uncaria tomentosa (Willd. ex Schult.)…”