Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance has become a global concern in recent years. Infectious diseases remain one of the major threats to human health. In this study, antimicrobial activities of extracts of five wild mushrooms (Auricularia auricular, Pleurotus squarrosulus, Armillaria mellea, Lycoperdon perlatum, Polyporus alveolaris) against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata were investigated. Antimicrobial components from the mushrooms were extracted with ethanol, methanol and water. The antimicrobial activities were examined by agar well diffusion method. The minimal inhibition concentration (MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) were evaluated for each extract of the mushrooms. The ethanolic extract of Pleurotus squarrosulus inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, C. albicans, B. cereus and C. glabrata. Ethanolic extract of Armillaria mellea and aqueous extract of Polyporus alveolaris showed wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against the test organisms with the exception of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The ethanolic extract of Auricularia auricular inhibited the growth of E. coli, B. cereus, S. aureus and C. albicans and not that of P. aeruginosa and C. glabrata. The methanolic extract of Lycoperdon perlatum showed wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against all the test organisms. The phytochemical analysis of the mushroom extracts investigated showed the presence of saponins, proteins and carbohydrates in all the extracts while glycosides, alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids were found in some. The MIC of the test extracts varied between 3.90 and 250 mg/ml with MBC of 7.81 to 250 mg/ml and MFC of 7.81 to 250 mg/ml. The result obtained from this study suggests that Pleurotus squarrosulus, Lycoperdon perlatum and Polyporus alveolaris possessed broad-spectrum of activity against microbial isolates used.
