An in vitro evaluation of the antibiotic and antimycotic properties of the colletotrichamides, a family of novel polyketide natural products
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Date
2025-03
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses an alarming global health crisis, necessitating the urgent development of novel antimicrobial agents. We have recently discovered a new family of antibiotic polyketides, the colletotrichamides A-E, that were isolated from an endophytic Colletotrichum species fungus. In this study we evaluated the antibiotic activity of the colletotrichamides against a panel of 10 bacterial and fungal pathogens using absorbance- and fluorescence-based in vitro bioassays. Compounds that inhibited microbial growth by more than 90% in preliminary screening assays underwent dose-response analysis to determine their IC50 values. Colletotrichamide C demonstrated the highest activity overall, exhibiting strong inhibition against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecium. Our results indicate that the colletotrichamides have the potential to contribute to the development of novel antimicrobial agents and, although further research is needed to elucidate their mechanisms of action and in vivo efficacy, underscores the importance of natural product research in antibiotic discovery efforts.