isolation identfication and central of natures keratin degrading organisms from various habitats of rajasthan

Abstract

Keratinophilic fungi areecologically important group of fungi that degrades hard keratin materials into components of low molecular weight. These keratinophilic fungi are included in dermatophytes, which are very well known for causing mycoses in human and animals.These infections are caused by dermatophytes and referred as dermatophytosis or tinea infections. newline newline The main objectives of the present study were to isolate and identify the keratinophilic fungi from different habitats of Ajmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Sikar district of Rajasthan.The present study was also intended to relate the physical and chemical condition such as pH, temperature, moisture content of soil, calcium carbonatecontent, conductivity and organic matter content of the soil with the growth and occurrence of fungi. The present study was also aimed at molecular characterization of fungi, isolation, identification and purification of the medicinally important compounds from AdhatodavasicaL. and ArgemonemexicanaL. and to study the antifungal activity of plant extracts against isolated keratinophilic fungi. newline newline The results of the present study have confirmed that slightly alkaline and slightly acidic soils of Rajasthan support the growth of keratinophilic fungi. The incidence ratio of keratinophilic fungal growth in baits was high to low as follows: chicken feathers gthuman hair gtanimal hair gthuman nails. In the present study, most of the keratinophilic fungi were recoveredfrom soilat pH ranging from 6.50 7.50 followed by 7.50-8.50. However, soil with pH more than 8.5 were found negative for growth of fungi e.g. saline soil. In thepresent study, 25oC was found to be the most suitable temperature of soil for isolation of fungi. Most of the keratinophilic fungi in this study were isolated from the temperature range of 25oC to 35oC. Soil with pH more than 8.5 were found negative for growth of fungi e.g. saline soil. newline newlineFrom the 100 soil samples collected, a total of 337 isolates of keratinophilic fungi were reported in this study. Among the 337 isolates of keratinophilic fungi, 45 species belonging to 22 genera were isolated and identified. Trichophyton (23.73%) was the most dominant generain this study followed by Chrysosporium (12.46%), Aspergillus(11.27%),Microsporum (10.38%), Fusarium(9.49%), Aphanoascus(8.61%),Chaetomium(7.12%),Penicillium(4.74%),Emericella(2.37%),Rhizomucor(2.08%), Rhizopus(2.08%), Mucor(1.78%), Scopulariopsis(1.19%),Alternaria(0.89%), Blastomyces(0.89%), Curvularia(0.89%), Mortierella(0.59%), Trichoderma(0.59%), Cephaliophora(0.29%)andTorula(0.29%). The five species of keratinophilic fungi were identified by molecular characterization, includingChaetomiumseminiscitrulli, Penicilliumguttulosum, Aphanoascusterreus,Aphanoascusdurus and Chrysosporiumzonatum. Among all these fungal species Aphanoascusterreus, Penicilliumguttulosum, ChaetomiumseminiscitrulliandAphanoascusdurushave been isolated and identified for thefirst time from the soil samples of Rajasthan by hair baiting technique. newline newline In the present investigation, two medicinal plants viz. AdhatodavasicaL. and ArgemonemexicanaL. were selected to study the medicinal value. The leaves, stems and flowers of these two plants were analyzed for presence of bioactive compounds by preliminary phytochemical analysis, total phenolic and flavonoid content and GC-MS. Both of these two plants were found rich in most of the phyto-compounds and total phenolic and flavonoid content. The GC-MS analysis of these two plants showed the presence of fatty acids and heterocyclic compounds. Using the column chromatography, two compounds, hexadecanoic acid and oleic acid were isolated. The structural data and functional group of isolated compounds were analyzed by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. newline newline In this study, antifungal activity of Adhatodavasicaand Argemonemexicanawas analyzed against five isolates of keratinophilic fungi namely Chaetomiumseminiscitrulli, Penicilliumguttulosum, Aphanoscusterreus,Aphanoscusdurusand Chrysosporiumzonatum.The results of the present study indicate that Adhotodavasica flower bound flavonoid extract andAdhotdavasica leaf bound flavonoid extract were found to be the best antifungal agents against all tested fungi. Likewise, bound flavonoid extract of Argemonemaxicanastemand flower also showed very good activity against fungal strains. Aphanoscusdurus was found as the most susceptible fungal strain against all plant extracts. newline newline In conclusion, the incidence of keratinophilic fungi was significant in five selected districts of Rajasthan with maximum frequency in Jaipur and Nagaur districts. The findings of the present study indicate that plant extracts show good antifungal activity than standard antibiotic discs. The plant Adhatodavasica and Argemonemexicana showed good results as noble antifungal agents. newline newline