Assessment of the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity of polypore mushrooms from Kibaale district

Abstract

Several natural-synthetic antimicrobial agents have been isolated, developed to kill pathogenic microorganisms effectively, but global antimicrobial resistance is an increasing public health problem. Various specific plants have continued to be an important therapeutic aid for alleviating the ailments of humankind the reason to why the antibacterial and antifungal activities of crudeextracts of Trametes pocas, Funalia leonina, Polyporus tenuiculus, and Pycnosporus sanguineus (wild mushrooms) were evaluated against. The study involved methanolic extraction of the wild mushrooms and using Agar well diffusion assay, their inhibitory actions through measuring zones of inhibition were determined against a total of four different pathogenic organisms. (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae). All the wild mushroom extracts showed varying degrees of inhibition on the test organisms. Extracts showed good antimicrobial activities against all the bacteria except for the fungus; C. albicans where they all showed resistance. All the wild mushroom extracts showed wider inhibition zones (17.98mm, 18.97mm, 19.92mm, and 33.92mm) for S. aureus than other bacteria (7.93mm, 9.92mm, 7.90mm, 9.95mm for E. coli, 8.90mm, 9.92mm, 8.90mm, 9.92mm for P. aeruginosa, and 8.92mm, 8.97mm, 8.97mm, 8.97mm for K. pneumoniae). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for the methanolic extracts were between 0.02 – 0.05 g/ml for all the test bacteria. The inhibitory activity against all the bacteria gives insight into the development of antibacterial agents and their application in pharmacological activities. The bioactive contents of the mushroom species are promising natural antimicrobial agents that can be harnessed as potent antibacterial toxicants. However, further studies on isolation, purification, and screening of active compounds are necessary.