The results from this study revealed that crude extracts isolated from bacterial endophytes obtained from Crinum macowanii bulbs showed activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative pathogenic bacteria, while Acinetobacter guillouiae crude extracts displayed anticancer activity. This study aimed to isolate and characterize bacterial endophytes and their crude extracts from C. macowanii bulbs. Endophytes were isolated using validated surface sterilization techniques, followed by phenotypic and genotypic profiles of the isolates. Crude extracts were extracted from the endophytes using ethyl acetate, while methanol:dichloromethane (1:1) was used to obtain crude extracts from the bulbs. Antibacterial activity of crude extract from each endophyte was investigated against selected pathogenic strains using the broth microdilution method, and anticancer activity against U87MG glioblastoma and A549 lung carcinoma cells was determined by the MTS (3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐5‐(3‐carboxymethoxy‐phenyl)‐2‐(4‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium) assay. Acinetobacter guillouiae, Pseudomonas moraviensis, Pseudomonas sp., Rahnella aquatilis, Bacillus cereus, Novosphingobium sp., Raoultella ornithinolytica, and Burkholderia tropica were successfully isolated. The crude extracts from the majority of endophytes showed antibacterial activity, ranging from 0.125 to >16.00 mg/ml against Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive pathogenic bacteria. Acinetobacter guillouiae extracts showed a high bioactive potential against U87MG glioblastoma cell lines by reducing their growth by 50% at concentrations of 12.5, 6.25, and 3.13 µg/ml. Crude extracts isolated from C. macowanii bulbs showed potential for possible drug lead against common pathogenic bacteria.

Endophytes are microorganisms that are perceived as non-pathogenic symbionts found inside plants since they cause no symptoms of disease on the host plant. Soil conditions and geography among other factors contribute to the type(s) of endophytes isolated from plants. Our research interest is the antibacterial activity of secondary metabolite crude extracts from the medicinal plant Solanum mauritianum and its bacterial endophytes. Fresh, healthy stems of S. mauritianum were collected, washed, surface sterilized, macerated in PBS, inoculated in the nutrient agar plates, and incubated for 5 days at 30 °C. Amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was applied to identify the isolated bacterial endophytes. These endophytes were then grown in nutrient broth for 7–14 days, after which sterilized Amberlite® XAD7HP 20–60 mesh (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) resin was added to each culture to adsorb the secondary metabolites, which were later extracted using ethyl acetate. Concentrated crude extracts from each bacterial endophyte were tested for antibacterial activity against 11 pathogenic bacteria and two human cancer cell lines. In this study, a total of three bacterial endophytes of the Pantoea genus were identified from the stem of S. mauritianum. The antibacterial test showed that crude secondary metabolites of the endophytes and stem of S. mauritianum possessed antibacterial properties against pathogenic microbes such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with concentrations showing inhibition ranging from 0.0625 to 8.0000 mg/mL. The anticancer analysis showed an increase in cell proliferation when A549 lung carcinoma and UMG87 glioblastoma cell lines were treated with both the plant and endophytes’ crude extracts. As far as we know, this is the first study of its kind on Solanum mauritianum in South Africa showing S. mauritianum endophytes having activity against some of the common human pathogenic organisms.

This data article presents the untargeted metabolite profiling of a crude extract from the leaves of Datura stramonium . The plant was collected in Johannesburg (South Africa) and the extract was prepared by firstly air-drying fresh D. stramonium leaves for one week, grinding the dry leaves into fine powder, followed by solvent extraction using a 1:1 solvent mixture of dichloromethane and methanol (v/v) to extract the compounds. The extract was concentrated at 65 °C to obtain a solid crude extract which was then stored under refrigeration at −80 °C. Qualitative tandem liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS/MS) was utilized to identify compounds in the extract. The data processing revealed the presence of 76 known compounds in the crude extract from the leaves. This data article contains the m/z [M + H + ] values, retention times and corresponding database search hit identities of the 76 compounds and the comprehensive list of m/z values detected during the LC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis.

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BackgroundEndophytic fungi are a proven source of bioactive secondary metabolites that may provide lead compounds for novel drug discovery. In this study, crude extracts from fungal endophytes isolated from Datura stramonium were evaluated for cytotoxic activity on two human cancer cell lines.MethodsFungal endophytes were isolated from surface sterilized aerial parts of D. stramonium and identified using molecular, morphological and phylogenetic methods. Ethyl acetate crude extracts from these isolates were evaluated for cytotoxic activity on A549 lung carcinoma and UMG87 glioblastoma cell lines. Metabolite profiling was then performed by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS/MS) for the cytotoxic crude extract.ResultsEleven fungal endophytes were identified from D. stramonium. Significant cytotoxicity was only observed from the crude extract of Alternaria sp. KTDL7 on UMG87 glioblastoma cells (IC50 = 21.49 μg/ml). Metabolite profiling of this crude extract tentatively revealed the presence of the following secondary metabolites: 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (1), anserinone B (2), phelligridin B (3), metacytofilin (4), phomopsidin (5) and vermixocin A (6). Compounds 2 and 3 have been shown to be cytotoxic in literature.ConclusionThe findings in this study suggest that the crude extract of Alternaria sp. KTDL7 possesses compound(s) cytotoxic to glioblastoma multiforme cells. Future studies to isolate and characterize the cytotoxic compound(s) from this fungus could result in lead development of a fungal-based drug for glioblastoma multiforme treatment.

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Fungi are ubiquitous, they proliferate even in environments with toxic pollutants that are otherwise harmful to other eukaryotes. This article presents data of fungi which were isolated from gold mine tailings and identified by DNA sequencing of their inter transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2. Five fungal isolates were identified, among which the crude extract of Penicillium janthinellum KTMT5 was investigated for anticancer activity on A549 (lung carcinoma) and UMG87 (glioblastoma) cell lines. Untargeted metabolite profiling of the crude extract of P. janthinellum KTMT5 was performed using liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS/MS) and a molecular network generated using the online workflow on the Global Natural Product Social molecular networking (GNPS) website. DNA sequencing showed that all fungal isolates belonged to phylum Ascomycota with the genus Penicillium representing 75% of the fungal isolates. P. janthinellum KTMT5 which was selected for further experiments showed significant anticancer activity against UMG87 cells with a calculated IC50 value of 44.23 μg/mL in the MTS assay, while the real time xCELLigence assay showed dose-dependent anticancer activity at 50 and 100 μg/mL. Metabolite profiling revealed the presence of several known metabolites in the crude extract of P. janthinellum KTMT5 and molecular networking showed the relationships among these metabolites.

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