Mt. Mayon is known for its perfect cone shape and eruptive past but a discovery from its soils hosts bacteria that has potential antibiotic and anticancer properties.
A specific bacterial species from the soils of Mt. Mayon that has shown potential antibiotic and anti-colorectal cancer activities, identified by researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
This specific bacterial isolate identified as Streptomyces sp. A1-08 has shown antibiotic activity against numerous potentially pathogenic microorganisms and anti-colorectal cancer potential. It is one of the 30 bacteria that were isolated from soil samples of Mt. Mayon in Malilipot, Albay.
“We have high hopes of getting new and novel species because this is a less explored environment, a volcano”, said Kristel Mae P. Oliveros, the project leader and an assistant professor in UPLB Microbiology Division.
“The choice of test organisms was also associated with World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of human pathogens that post eminent danger to human health by 2050, mainly due to antibiotic resistance,” according to their team added.
The research team assumed that since those 30 isolates thrive in a unique environment such as Mt. Mayon’s volcanic soils, they most likely produce unique chemical compounds that may have medical, pharmaceutical, and even cosmeceutical uses.
Their anti-colorectal cancer test indicates that crude extracts from Streptomyces sp. A1-08 suggested low potency when compared to a doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug.
Raw compounds can be purified further to develop an exact anticancer drug.
0 Comments