GCMS Separation of the Bioactive Fraction Obtained from Aspergillus flavus Isolated from El-Qussair Marine Environments

Abstract

D UE TO THEIR diversity and chemo-diversity, marine fungi are renowned for producing structurally distinct secondary metabolites and are regarded as a viable source of novel treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 26 fungal strains collected from the Mediterranean and Red Seas at Sharm el-sheikh, Marsa matrouh, Damietta, El-ain el-sobhy, and El-Qusair. Using the well diffusion method with ethyl acetate, petroleum ether, methanolic, and chloroformic extracts, the antibacterial activity of each fungal isolate against pathogenic microbes was assessed. Our research revealed that marine fungi, particularly those from El-Qusair, possess potent antibacterial properties. The IC50 values for the cytotoxic activity of natural products extracted with ethyl acetate and petroleum ether against human hepatocellular cancer cell lines (HepG2 cells), human colon carcinoma cell lines (HCT-116 cells), and human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 cells) were 62.13, 115.93, and 154.82g/mL, respectively. Using the DPPH free radical scavenging assay in triplicate and average values, the antioxidant activity of the active fraction was determined. Our findings revealed that the ethylacetate extract had the highest percent DPPH scavenging activity compared to petroleum ether extracts. Using GCMS, chromatographic separations of the active ethyl acetate extract were performed to determine the active principles responsible for the activities.