Antifungal activity of bacterial strains from the rhizosphere of <i>Stachytarpheta crassifolia</i>

Abstract

This study evaluated the antifungal action of biomolecules produced from the secondary metabolism of bacterial strains found in the rhizosphere of semi arid plants against human pathogenic Candida albicans. Crude extracts were obtained using ethyl acetate as an organic solvent and the bioactivity was assessed with a bioautography technique. The results showed that bacterial strains, Alcaligenes faecalis MRbS12 and Bacillus cereus MRbS26, had compounds with antifungal bioactivity. The largest inhibition zones for both compounds were located on spots with Rf values below 0.500, indicating that the molecules possibly had polar characteristics. These results suggested that microorganisms found in the environment could have bioprospecting potential.

Key words: Biomolecules, bioautoghaphy, antifungal activity, Alcaligenes faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans.