Anti-Tuberculosis Activity of Crude Ethanol Extracts of Mangrove Rhizosphere Fungi, Trichoderma Spp.

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in the developing countries including India. Increase in multidrug resistant (MDR) and extensively multi-drug resistant (XDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, there is an insistent need to search for new alternatives to combat this problem. Marine microbes are a source of novel compounds that can be harnessed for their antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity. The main aim of this study was to find out the anti-mycobacterial activity of crude extract of the rhizosphere soil fungus Trichoderma spp. against virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Totally four Trichoderma spp. were processed for crude extraction and screened for their anti-mycobacterial activity by both conventional and radiometric assay. The isolates were screened based on the maximum day of inhibition. Maximum inhibition was exhibited by 5mg/ml of all the fungal crude extract followed by 2mg/m, 1mg/ml and finally 0.5 mg/ml. The crude extract of Trichoderma harzianum showed negative growth up to maximum inhibition days in 5mg/ml and 2mg/ml, whereas Trichoderma viridae, Trichoderma inhamatum and Trichoderma harzianum (2) showing maximum inhibition only at 5mg/ml. The research study revealed that the four fungal crude extracts showed good anti-mycobacterial activity against virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Therefore, these crude extracts can be used as a potential source of antituberculosis agents to develop new drug molecules.