414942

Exploring the antioxidant and cytotoxicity perspective of melanin pigment produced by fungi associated with marine macroalgae, Fayed, Suez Canal, Egypt

Article

Last updated: 29 Mar 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Antioxidants
Fungi
Microbial-plant interactions
Microbiology
Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

This study investigated the physicochemical properties, antioxidant, and antitumor activities of melanin extracted from fungi associated with abundant marine macroalgae collected from Fayed, Suez Canal, Egypt during winter 2023. The epiphytic fungi included Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium sp., and Curvularia chlamydospora. that are associated with the red algae Laurencia obtusa and Gracilaria verrucosa, as well as the green algae Cladophora crinalis, Enteromorpha compressa, and Ulva lactuca. Melanin exhibited a characteristic UV-Vis absorption peak at 235 mm. IR spectra of fungal melanin showed peaks at 3378 cm-1 and 3308 cm-1 (carboxyl, phenolic, hydroxyl, amine), 1720/1705 cm-1 (C=O), 1646/1610 cm-1 (C=C), and 1046/1040 cm-1 (C-O), indicating the presence of various functional groups. All fungal melanin pigments demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner in both DPPH and ABTS assays. Aspergillus niger and Curvularia chlamydospore showed 50% activity at IC50 values of 12.2 and 13.48 µg/ml in the DPPH assay, and 15.47 and 25.87 µg/ml in the ABTS assay respectively. In vitro, cytotoxicity assays revealed that melanin exhibited differing levels of cytotoxicity against A549 lung cancer cells while showing negligible toxicity to normal cells at varying doses from 31.25 to 1000 µg/ml., significantly reducing tumor cell viability in a dose-dependent mode. Alternaria alternata demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity at low concentrations, signifying its potential as a promising anticancer agent. Our findings showed that fungi associated with macroalgae represented a novel source of melanin. This natural pigment exhibits significant potential for various applications, providing a strong theoretical foundation for its utilization.

DOI

10.21608/mb.2025.352914.1229

Keywords

bioactive compounds, biomedical applications, Free radical scavenging, Marine fungi, natural pigments, Oxidative Stress

Authors

First Name

Reda

Last Name

Mansour

MiddleName

I.

Affiliation

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.

Email

redaismail96@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Gehan

Last Name

Elshoubaky

MiddleName

A.

Affiliation

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.

Email

dr_gehan_elshoubaky@yahoo.com

City

Ismallia

Orcid

-

First Name

Eman

Last Name

Attia

MiddleName

A.

Affiliation

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt..

Email

eman_mohamed@science.suez.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0003-0592-8169

Volume

10

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

53711

Issue Date

2025-03-01

Receive Date

2025-01-14

Publish Date

2025-03-01

Page Start

181

Page End

194

Print ISSN

2357-0326

Online ISSN

2357-0334

Link

https://mb.journals.ekb.eg/article_414942.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=414942

Order

414,942

Type

Original Article

Type Code

502

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Microbial Biosystems

Publication Link

https://mb.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Exploring the antioxidant and cytotoxicity perspective of melanin pigment produced by fungi associated with marine macroalgae, Fayed, Suez Canal, Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

09 Mar 2025